


Placed in his Care

by underscore65



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Avengers Family, Domestic Avengers, Kid Avengers, Kid Fic, Parent Melinda May, Parent Phil Coulson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-11 09:16:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1171334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underscore65/pseuds/underscore65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Darcy is taken out of her abusive home and put with her Uncle Phil, she never thought she would gain such an interesting family. Look as Darcy gets used to having a family that love and protects her, even when she feels she doesn't deserve it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Uncle Phil

Darcy was scared. She had been scared before, but normally that fear was caused by what she knew was coming. Often she was scared because her Dad had been drinking the gross smelling Liquid and that makes him angry, or she was scared because her mother hadn't gotten out of bed and so she didn't get fed, or she was scared because the bullies at school would be walking towards her with anger in their eyes. But this time the feeling of fear came from the unknown. She didn't know what was going to happen next, and that truly terrified her.

 

\--------------------

 

Darcy knew what a hospital was, for her age she had been in one quite a few times. Her father always standing over her claiming her clumsy nature for the bruises, broken bones, sometimes even injuries that required stitches. But she always remembered the getting there; this was the first time that she awoke in the hospital and she was on a bed, something else that had never happened before. Normally she was treated in emergency and then her father would take her home telling everyone she was too scared of hospitals to spend the night. But somehow Darcy Elizabeth Lewis found herself at what she could only assume was the local hospital, in a room by herself. She looked outside and saw it was morning, the sun just starting to rise, wondering what today had in store for her she waited.

As she was looking around the room Darcy noticed the door open. Glancing towards it she watched as a man in a white coat, a woman wearing nice clothes and a man in a suit walked in.

The woman spoke first.

‘Hello Darcy, my name is Miss Sif. Do you remember why you are here?’

The woman voice was soft and soothing, and Darcy wanted to answer her question, but she honestly couldn't remember what had happened, just darkness and pain. Darcy shook her head.

‘That’s okay sweetie, perfectly normal.’ The woman, Miss Sif, said, smiling a comforting smile at her. ‘There was an accident last night, some of your neighbours called the police when they heard shouting and screaming from your house. When the police arrived they found you hurt and so called an ambulance that brought you here.’

Darcy nodded, knowing that often when her father drank the Liquid it led to him getting loud and angry. He must have had a lot last night, because he had never been so loud to alert the neighbours. She hoped he wasn't still angry when she went home, because if he was then she would probably end up hurt again. Darcy looked around the room wondering if maybe he was hiding somewhere. Noticing her looking around Miss Sif smiled again.

‘Your father isn't here’ she said looking at Darcy straight in her eyes. ‘The police took him, he won’t hurt you anymore.’

Darcy wondered if it was a trick. Was her father just hiding until she put her guard down? Then would he jump out and get her like so many times before?

But there was something in Miss Sif's eyes that made Darcy believe her, Darcy knew she was telling the truth. Again Darcy nodded, looking between Miss Sif, the doctor and the man in the suit.

‘This is Doctor Odin,’ Miss Sif said gesturing to the old man in the white coat. ‘He is the one who helped fix you up. And this is your Uncle Phil.’  
When Miss Sif said his name, the man in the suit stepped forward.

‘Hey Darcy,’ He said in a soft voice, as if trying not to spook her. ‘You probably don’t remember me because the last time we met you were just a little baby. I am your mothers’ brother.’

This made Darcy skeptical. He certainly didn't look like her mother; her mother had long dark hair, whereas this man was almost bald. Her mother’s eyes were a dark brown whereas this mans were a clear blue. And he certainly didn't act like Darcy’s mother, who enjoyed spending all day in bed drinking the Liquid and smoking the weird smelling things, not getting out even when Darcy had to go to school. Not knowing whether to trust this man or not, Darcy looked back to Miss Sif, who she assumed was in charge of the situation.

‘What’s happening,’ she managed to croak out, her voice sore from, apparently, screaming and unused. 

Miss Sif smiled again, but this one had a touch of sadness.  
‘Honey, you can’t live with your parents anymore. What they were doing was wrong, very wrong; they should never have hurt you. But they won’t be able to hurt you anymore. Instead you are going to go and live with your Uncle Phil and his family. Your Uncle has been granted custody of you for now, and in a couple months we will assess it and see if the stay will be permanent. Once the Doctor gives you the all clear, you can go home with your Uncle and meet everyone.’ Miss Sif explained.

This made Darcy turn her attention to the Doctor, who grinned when he saw her eyes on him.

‘You should recover fine,’ he said his voice deep and gruff, but comforting all the same. ‘The swelling should go down in a couple of days, and the bruising should disappear after a few more. I have casted her leg, but she should be fine to walk with crutches in a couple of days. The stitches in her head will have to come out soon, but we can make an appointment for that in a while. Now Darcy all you have to do is rest okay.’

As he was talking Darcy did realise that her face felt a bit puffy and sore, and her leg did feel a bit heavier than normal. Slowly she reached her hand up to the pain at the top of her head near the hairline, but the doctor caught it before she could. 

‘Don’t go touching that just yet,’ he softly chided. ‘Let it heal a bit before you go around showing off your cool scar. Before you leave we will put a bandage over it to protect it a bit and to stop dirt getting in.’

At that he turned to Miss Sif and Uncle Phil. 

‘Darcy should be right to leave after lunch; I just want to monitor her for a bit longer. But no major complications have been found.’  
Uncle Phil smiled at this before turning to Miss Sif.

‘Any further paper work I need to sign at the moment?’ he asked the woman who shook her head. ‘Excellent, do you mind if I talk to Darcy for a bit, explain a bit more what’s going on?’

At this both Doctor Odin and Miss Sif nodded and turned to leave the room.

‘Don’t be frightened Darcy,’ Miss Sif called from the doorway. ‘I will just be out here, so call me if you need me.’

Darcy nodded, wanting to say something but her throat hurt too much. She turned her gaze from the now empty doorway to the man who had sat down on the chair next to her bed.

‘Darcy,’ he said keeping the soft voice he had used before. ‘Are you scared?’

Darcy considered this. Sure she was a little frightened about what was happening, but from what she had seen this man hadn’t had any of the Liquid, and she knew that if he got too loud too quickly Miss Sif was just outside. And her only experience of this man had been a little daunting so far, but his voice was nice and he had kind eyes. She shook her head slowly and noticed as a lot of tension seemed to leave Uncle Phil’s face.

‘That’s great, Darcy. I never want you to be scared okay. If ever you are you tell me okay.’ Darcy noticed as his face became more serious and nodded quickly letting him know that she understood. 

‘I am so sorry this happened to you,’ Uncle Phil said, his voice becoming sad again. ‘If I had known I would have stepped in sooner.’ He took a deep breath. ‘But we can’t live in ‘what ifs’, so let me tell you about your knew family.’  
Darcy listened as Phil explained where she would be living.

Apparently it was a large house, with heaps of bedrooms and bathrooms, a large backyard and even a pool. Darcy didn't mention that she didn't know how to swim, not wanting to give Uncle Phil a reason to be embarrassed by her already. Darcy knew that normally when she displayed the fact she couldn't do things, her father would get mad, yelling at her about being hopeless, and Darcy never wanted Uncle Phil to tell her that.

Uncle Phil explained that while he had been married once, his wife had died a while ago; meaning that in the house he was the dad but there was no mom. His voice grew soft in sadness as he told her and Darcy wanted to comfort him, but wasn't sure how so she kept silent.

Uncle Phil also told her about her cousins, which she never knew existed, granted she never knew she had any family outside of her mother and father so she listened intently. Uncle Phil told her about Bruce, a man who had just finished school and who was looking at going to college in town and stay living at home. Bruce really like science and maths and would often stay up late writing down formula and science-y things. Uncle Phil told her about Steve, who was 16 yrs. old and loved playing sport and riding his motorcycle at the track. Uncle Phil told her about Anthony, who liked being called Tony, who was 15 and enjoyed science-y things like Bruce, but also like robots and building machines. Uncle Phil told her that often he would find Tony late at night tinkering away at something that was going to ‘revolutionise the world’. Uncle Phil also told her about Clint, a 12 yr. old who was going to be closest in age to Darcy’s 8. He enjoyed climbing trees and shooting arrows at the targets Uncle Phil had installed in the backyard while pretending to be Robin Hood or the Green Arrow. 

Then Uncle Phil told her about children that were her cousins, but weren't at the same time. Darcy got a bit confused as her explain what a ‘foster child’ was but she quickly realised that it meant that while Uncle Phil wasn't their real Dad he acted like it, much like what was going to happen with her at the house. Uncle Phil told her about Thor an 18 yr. old who had dropped out of school and worked down at the metal works forging sheets of metal, often bringing home scraps and pieces for Tony to play with. Finally Uncle Phil told her about Natasha, the only other girl in the house, who was 13 and enjoyed acrobatics and gymnastics, preferring to jump and tumble places rather than just walk. 

Afterwards while Uncle Phil was telling stories about what the other children like to do on weekends, Darcy found herself slowly drifting off to sleep to the sound of his calm soothing voice. 

 

\--------------------

 

When Darcy awoke again, she was greeted with the sight of Uncle Phil sitting in the chair which he had dragged over, asleep with his head on her bed. Slowly she reached out and touched his arm softly, knowing that sometimes when people wake up that can be grouchy. Just as she was becoming braver in her movements Doctor Odin came in and smiled at her.

‘Nice to see you awake Darcy,’ he said before looking at Uncle Phil. ‘but I can’t say the same for everyone. Why don’t we wake him up, you should be set to go home soon once he fills out the last bit of paper work’.

At this Doctor Odin walked over to Uncle Phil tapping him a few times on the arm.

‘Come along,’ Doctor Odin said once Uncle Phil had semi woken up. ‘Just a few more forms and you can go home to a real bed.’

Uncle Phil smiled at Darcy before standing up to follow Doctor Odin.

‘Sit tight Darcy,’ he said grinning at her. ‘I will just be a little while and then we can go.’

A little while turned into a long while, and Darcy found herself getting bored while she waited for Uncle Phil to return. Laying back down trying to fall asleep again in hopes that it would help pass the time, but she was unable to drift off fully, which frustrated her more. As she was trying to get comfortable a nurse came in.

‘Hello dear,’ the nurse’s voice was sweet. ‘We need to get you ready to leave.’

At this she showed Darcy a bag and began pulling out clothes, Darcy recognised them as her own and was eager to put them on in place of the robe she was currently wearing. The nurse helped her ease on the shorts over the large cast that was on her right leg, and pull the t-shirt over her sore head. Putting her arms through, Darcy noticed the Nurse looking at the bruises on her arms, which ranged from being cause last night to a couple days old. She smiled a little at the nurse before saying.

‘Don’t worry; he can’t get me anymore because Uncle Phil and Miss Sif said he had gone away.’

The nurse seemed startled at her outburst before a smile appeared on her face. A she began to place a bandage over the stitches in Darcy’s head she spoke.

‘I am sure that Uncle Phil will take good care of you.’ 

Then the nurse eased a sock and shoe on Darcy’s left foot, placed the bag on the bed next to Darcy and left. Looking in the bag Darcy was relieved to see that Bunny, the stuffed rabbit she had had since she was young, was in there. Pulling Bunny out and hugging him close to her chest she began to explain what was happening, stumbling over the names of her new cousins a bit, but eventually figuring it out. By the time she got to Natasha Darcy noticed that there was someone standing in the door.

Uncle Phil had returned this time pushing a wheelchair in front of him. He smiled at her before gesturing to the chair.

‘Doctor Odin says you shouldn't walk with crutches for a couple of days, so I am to push you to the car and then carry you once we get home. Is that okay?’

Darcy nodded focusing more on Bunny in her hands, wondering if Uncle Phil would try and take him away from her like her father used to always threaten. 

‘That’s a cool bunny,’ Uncle Phil said, trying to start a conversation. ‘What’s his name?’

‘Bunny,’ Darcy replied as if it was obvious, I mean seriously, what else would you call a rabbit?

Uncle Phil chuckled before gently lifting Darcy and placing her in the chair, her bag of belongings was zipped up and placed on the back of the chair.

On the way out, Uncle Phil and Darcy stopped by the lounge area where Miss Sif was waiting. She gave Darcy a card which had her name and some numbers on it. 

‘That’s my card’, Miss Sif explained. ‘If ever you need me or want to talk, just give me a call.’

Darcy smiled at Miss Sif who was being very kind before nodding and placing her card in her pocket. Uncle Phil watched with a smile on his face before waving goodbye to Miss Sif and wheeling Darcy to the parking lot. There he helped Darcy into a car while another nurse took the wheel chair back inside. 

‘It’s about half an hour home,’ Uncle Phil explained. ‘So get comfy. Everyone is excited to meet you and I think Steve and Natasha even made a cake.’

Darcy smiled at the thought and spent the car trip thinking about cakes and cookies and treats, excited and nervous about what was to come.


	2. Welcome Home Darcy (Meet the Others)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is brought back to the Coulson residence and is introduced to some of her new family. New surroundings and circumstances can be confusing as she puts faces to the names she learnt from Uncle Phil

Darcy was so caught up in the world of cakes and cookies she had created in her mind she barely noticed the car stopping. She did however notice when Uncle Phil got out of the car, it was the closing of the door that startled her into reality. Uncle Phil walked around to where she was in the backseat, clutching Bunny to her chest, and opened her door.

‘Welcome Home Darcy,’ He said, smiling down at her before undoing her seat belt and gently picking her up in his arms.

Uncle Phil set Darcy gently on the ground making sure she was standing on her injured leg and still supporting most of her weight himself as he reached in for her bag and then shut the door, and slinging the bag onto his back and picking her up again.

‘This is our mailbox,’ Uncle Phil said stopping at it. ‘See the number 26 on it; that means that our house is number 26 on this road. If you get lost, or confused remember the number 26 okay. This is Number 26 Queen Street, now you live at number 26 Queen Street’. Uncle Phil repeated it a few times and got Darcy to say it as well. Darcy tried desperately to remember it, knowing it was important information. 

Smiling at her Uncle Phil continued up the path to the front door. Darcy noticed the pile of shoes in front of it and suddenly it hit her that there were a lot of people on the other side of this door, a lot of people that she had to share a house with. Never before had she lived in a house this big, or with this many people, her old house was small and rundown, but this house was clean and nothing was broken. Noticing her distress Uncle Phil stopped just before putting his hand on the door.

‘Remember,’ he said. ‘If you get scared just tell me. If it gets too much just let me know and we can separate off for a bit to let you get your head around it. But I bit of warning; everyone is very excited to meet you.’ And with that he opened the door to Darcy's new life.

 

\--------------------

 

The first thing Darcy noticed was that it was big. The mansion of a house looked even bigger on the inside with the open plan area, light colours and fancy staircase. The second thing Darcy noticed was the faces. Every wall, coffee table and windowsill was covered in photographs. Darcy could see the same faces repeated over and over, growing from babies to young adults. She particularly like the whole family photo, the smiles on the faces of everyone seemed genuine and gave her a warm feeling inside.

Uncle Phil watched Darcy as her eyes grew wider in amazement, drinking in the wonderful sight in front of her. When Uncle Phil closed the door, making a noise that drew Darcy away from her fascination, Darcy heard several thumps from upstairs, before the pounding of feet began.

‘That will be them,’ Uncle Phil says smiling down at her. Darcy barely has time to try and figure out how many sets of footsteps she hears before 4 boys came piling down the stairs. They ranged in height from being tall to Extremely Tall. The shortest, who was still at least a head taller than Darcy, had short spiky blondish hair that stood out in all directions; he was the first to arrive at the foot of the stairs having jumped over the banister from about half way. The next tallest was a dark haired boy. He seemed skinny compared to the other boys, but that may have been just because all of the others were so well built, and he had grease marks on his arms and face. Next was a boy with blonde hair cropped short around his head, he was smiling a genuine smile that made his eyes light up and made Darcy feel happy inside. Finally was the last boy, very tall with long Blonde hair that fell to his shoulders. Although he arrived at the bottom of the stairs last he somehow managed to pick up and move all the other boys out of the way to appear in front of Darcy and Uncle Phil first.

‘Hello’ his voice boomed loudly which instantly made Darcy shrink into Uncle Phil’s side.

Noticing his obvious mistake the giant’s face fell putting on such a sad expression. Feeling bad at herself for upsetting the boy, Darcy turned slightly away from Phil’s chest and whispered a timid hello back. The grin that lit up the giants face made Darcy giggle slightly, which in turn made the giant grin wider. 

‘This is Thor’, Uncle Phil said to Darcy. ‘Do you remember what I told you about him?’

Darcy nodded recalling that Thor wasn’t in school, but instead worked at the metal works, which probably explained the big muscles on his arms. Uncle Phil grinned at her before moving on the next boy. 

‘I’m Steve’, the boy with the short blonde hair and happy face said holding out her hand to shake, which was impossible because one of her hands was still wrapped around Phil because of the way she was being held, and the other was clutched onto Bunny so tightly it would take a lot of force to pry her hand away. Instead she looked at the hand before looking at his face and smiling, making the same quiet hello to him. 

Next came forward the shortest boy, who waved at her and announced,

‘I am Clint the best of the boys!’ before he was promptly tackled by the others. Scared and shocked could not cover what Darcy was feeling. Watching as the bigger boys tried to grab Clint Darcy began to shake, remembering the feelings of fear she had felt when her father had grabbed her. Noticing her distress Uncle Phil calmly put her on a couch, one of the comfiest couches Darcy had ever felt, before getting in and separating the boys. Ordering them into the other room for a ‘stern talking to’ in a voice that left no room for discussion, Uncle Phil then turned back to Darcy.

‘They weren’t hurting each other’, Uncle Phil said, his tone conveying his worry that she believed they were. ‘I will go talk to them and then we can see about that cake. Remember you have nothing to fear here.’

Darcy nodded, happy about the idea of cake. She was sure that none of the boys would hurt her, unless they had some Liquid, but she wasn’t about to judge them on that, Liquid makes people do crazy things. And while she was worried about her ability to get away if they have Liquid because her leg was covered in plaster, she thought that at least Uncle Phil would be able to keep her safe. 

Uncle Phil noticed her nodding and nodded himself, making her giggle slightly, before he turned around and went into the other room that the boys had just disappeared into. Darcy sighed, snuggling down further into the couch, marvelling at how comfortable it was. A few minutes passed and Darcy was still waiting for Uncle Phil to return with her cake when she started to get bored. Noticing a book on the coffee table in front of her, she shuffled forward on the couch to grab it, teetering on the edge of the couch for a second before regaining her balance. Moving back to her original position on the couch Darcy opened the book, and noticed it was filled with more photos.

Darcy wondered if the amount of photos in Uncle Phil's house was a normal amount. As she was flipping through the book, Darcy could see at the others as they grew up, starting as babies and growing older into the people she had met today. Darcy also noticed a red haired girl she assumed was Natasha plus an older dark haired boy she thought was Bruce based on the stories Uncle Phil had told her.

Darcy was so caught up in looking at the pictures that she didn’t realise that another person had entered the room until they sat down next to her. The movement of the couch alerted her to the presence of another and she immediately dropped the book, bringing up her hands palms open facing front in apology.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t mean to look at it, but it was there and it looked interesting, so maybe I did mean to look at it but still it looked nice and I’ve never seen so many pictures and…’ Darcy managed to stammer out before the new arrival stopped her.

‘That’s cool’, the red haired girl said. ‘You must be Darcy? I’m Natasha. You don’t need to be worried about looking at those; everyone here is okay with it.’

Darcy looked at Natasha, not sure whether to believe her, or if it was just a trick, but she was quickly side tracked by the large slice of chocolate cake that she held. Natasha noticing where her eyes were drawn smiled.

‘If you put the book then away you can have the cake, I just managed to sneak it out before the boys piled in. Steve and I made it for you, but I doubt they will remember that until after it’s all gone.’

Darcy quickly followed her orders, closing the book and putting it back on the table in front of her, before holding out her hands for the cake.

In one word, it was Delicious. It had been a long while since Darcy had had food, let alone sweet, soft, moist cake. Stuck between wanting to savour it and wanting to devour it immediately Darcy; settled with taking frequent small bites. Once she had the cake halfway finished she carefully placed the cake in her hands wiping off the crumbs from her face before smiling up at Natasha. 

Natasha smiled back at her, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, giving Darcy a bit of concern. Seeing her discomfort Natasha quickly jumped to her feet before muttering something under her breath about being needed in the kitchen and walking off. Part of Darcy wondered if she had somehow offended the girl, the other part wanted to know if her actions had hindered her ability to get more cake. 

It was a few more minutes of waiting before Uncle Phil came back into the room. 

‘I am so sorry about all that Darcy. Don’t worry they have been warned and won’t do it again.’ He reassured.

This confused Darcy, but she decided to let it slide once she saw that Uncle Phil had another piece of the chocolate cake on a plate in his hands. Noticing where her attention was Uncle Phil smiled.

‘Finish the one in your hands and then you can have this one okay. Natasha told me she had already given you a piece but I saved this one for you anyway seeing as how you missed lunch. Once you have had enough then I will show you to your room and you can get comfortable and have a nap if you want before dinner. At dinner you will get to meet Bruce, he’s my eldest remember, plus my little sister Jane. She is your Aunt and there is a bit of an age difference between us. After that you can decide if you want to stay up and hang around with us or if you just want to go to bed. Remember if at any time you feel uncomfortable or scared let me know and I will try and make it better.’

Darcy had tried to listen to what he said, but the second he mentioned that the piece of cake he held was for her she began scoffing down the cake in her hands in record time before holding out her hands for the one he had, hoping he would repeat himself later on as the information became more relevant. Uncle Phil looked down at her a smile on his face before handing over the plate that held the yummy cake.

Unable to stop herself this time, Darcy managed to eat the whole piece, not even noticing it was finished until she went for another bite and saw it would be her last. Looking up at Uncle Phil with a sad face he chuckled slightly, promising more after dinner, before gently lifting her into his arms and starting for the stairs. Walking up the stairs and along the corridor he pointed out the rooms. Thor’s was first, his name on the door with a picture of a hammer, representing his job at the metal works factory. Next along was Clint’s room, an arrow was shown underneath his name, showing his love for archery plus Robin Hood. Across from Clint’s room was Bruce’s and below his name was a test tube that was filled with bubbling green liquid. 

Before Darcy could see any more of the doors and what fun pictures could be on them, Uncle Phil opened up a door that was next to Clint’s.  
Darcy's first impression of the inside of the room was that it was very bland. There was a bed along one wall, a bookshelf and table opposite it and a door leading to what Darcy assumed was a cupboard. The best thing about the room however was definitely the window. It was huge, covering at least half of the back wall, the curtains were a brown that Darcy neither liked nor disliked. 

‘I am sorry it’s not the most interesting room. Normally my other sister uses it when she comes to stay, but she isn’t hung up in what things look like so it has practically stayed the same since I bought the house. But tomorrow if you are feeling up to it we can talk about redesigning and adding a few nice things.’ Uncle Phil said, trying to decipher Darcy's emotions about the room from her facial expression.

Darcy shrugged her shoulders. It was much better than her last room which was filled with dirt and dust and bad stains, not to mention the holes in the walls, door and few items she owned, often when her father had just a little Liquid he took it out on things rather than her. 

Very carefully Uncle Phil carried Darcy over to the bed and laid her down on top of the covers. He then arranged a pillow behind her head that was amazingly soft before putting another under her leg to prop it up a bit. Next he disappeared into the cupboard for a few seconds before returning with a small patchwork quilt that he gently covered her in.

‘Just relax okay. I am going to be downstairs but the other kids should come up to their rooms soon. If you need anything, just yell and someone will come and help you. After you have a little rest then you can come back downstairs and meet everyone else before dinner okay?’ Phil questioned and when Darcy shrugged again he sighed and left the room, closing the door slightly behind him but making sure to leave it a little ajar. 

Darcy watched him leave, and after a few moments of calm and quiet in her new room alone, she realised how tired she was and found herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to review/comment. Any ideas for what could happen in the future? Do you want to see a real story line or just chapter of fluff?


	3. First Dinner (and who are the extra guests?

Darcy was awoken by the soft touch on her shoulder. She grumbled, feeling too comfortable and warm to want to leave the wonderful place that she currently was. Her leg wasn’t bothering her, her face had stopped stinging, really she was as good as it gets. The person pushed softly at her shoulder again, and Darcy knew that it wasn’t her father, even when he hadn’t had any Liquid he still had a very firm touch. 

 

Slowly blinking and opening her eyes, Darcy looked up. Above her was a figure that as her vision cleared she recognised as Uncle Phil. He smiled down at her, his face showing happiness and comfort, something that made Darcy feel good on the inside. 

 

‘Dinner is in 20 minutes,’ He said, his voice soft. ‘It’s time to wake up and get ready okay?’ 

 

Darcy nodded, and as she tried to sit up, Uncle Phil realising her attempts quickly put his arm around her waist steadying her, providing the support she needed. Glad that Uncle Phil was helping her, which helped her decide that he hadn’t had any Liquid while she had been sleeping, Darcy waited while Uncle Phil picked her up again and began to leave the room.

 

Walking down the stairs Darcy’s eyes were again captured by all the photos on the walls. Every time she looked she seemed to see new ones. Rather than stopping in the lounge room like last time Uncle Phil walked her through to the kitchen area, where the kids were crowded around the breakfast bar. Phil paused for a bit announced ’20 minutes’ before he continued with Darcy through to the dining room.

 

It was wonderful. There was a table that was so huge it could easily seat 20 people, while at the same time it was arranged that everyone would have the ability to talk to anyone, no one was too far away. Darcy knew that families often ate dinner at a table, but in her home she was lucky if she got food so the novelty still existed for her. Uncle Phil placed her in a chair that wasn’t surrounded by other chairs, which Darcy was glad for. Not that she didn’t like the others; but the fact that there were so many people could feel a bit too much sometimes. 

 

Once Uncle Phil had placed Darcy in the chair and tucked her in close he left to get her a glass of water (what she had chosen over the option of juice or milk). Once Uncle Phil was sure she was comfortable he left the room, telling Darcy if she needed anything to just call, but he would be back in a few minutes with food.

 

Sure enough after only a while of Darcy drinking her water and gazing around the room Uncle Phil walked back in with a giant pot of something that smelled delicious, way better than the food she would normally pull from the cupboard if her mother had remembered to buy anything. Uncle Phil disappeared again after dropping of the large pot on a mat in the centre of the table and a smile directed at Darcy. He was only gone for a few brief seconds before returning with a large bowl and a basket filled with more delicious smelling things. Placing these things on the table, Uncle Phil turned slightly towards the door to the other room and called out in a voice that wasn’t too loud, but still would be heard around the house.

 

‘Dinner’s ready. Clint it’s your turn to set the table, so don’t forget.’

 

Darcy was a bit confused as to what was happening when suddenly the other 5 came barrelling though the door, four rushing to seats around the table, and the other one (the boy she remembered as Clint that had been attacked for declaring himself the best – which was something Darcy knew you shouldn’t do) slipping into the room Uncle Phil had received the food from. Uncle Phil sat down in the seat next to Darcy, and from the way the chairs were arranged, the only one sitting near her, for which she was glad.

 

The boy named Clint returned a few minutes later, his arms filled with plates and knives and forks before carefully placing them around the table, in front of all the chairs before taking his own seat. It was then Darcy realised that there were two seats that were not filled with people and started to worry about who could be filling them.

 

Darcy understood that Uncle Phil was a good man, who without Liquid would probably never hurt her, and she knew that his promise that the other kids wouldn’t hurt her was pretty solid, but these unknown people could very well do anything to her, even take her away from the nice house and that frightened her a little bit. But if there was one thing Darcy had learned, it was never to show the fear and so she swallowed it down and turned slightly in her chair to face Uncle Phil, to see if she could understand how she was supposed to act at dinner. 

 

Uncle Phil seemed to have noticed her actions as he too looked at the empty chairs before turning to Darcy;

 

‘Don’t worry about that,’ He said, his kind eyes bringing some reassurance to Darcy. ‘My sister and eldest son should be arriving soon, sometimes they get caught up at the lab and distracted, and they should be here soon.’

 

Nodding her head, Darcy decided to believe Uncle Phil. As long as he was around she felt safe.

 

The other kids had been piling their plates high with food while Uncle Phil and Darcy were having their conversation and soon the giant pots of nice smelling things found their way to be in front of Darcy. Uncle Phil scoped some of it out onto her plate before serving himself. Picking up her fork, Darcy delicately took a bite.

 

‘It’s Pasta with my homemade sauce.’ Uncle Phil explained, but all Darcy knew was it was some of the best food she had ever tasted. It was warm and filled her up with happiness. Slowly taking a few more bites, she turned and smiled up at Uncle Phil.   
‘I like it,’ she declared quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself, but wanting him to know she was enjoying her meal. The smile Uncle Phil gave in return was welcome enough.

 

A few minutes later when some of the older boys were on their second plate (Thor and Steve, Darcy had discovered when Uncle Phil had used their names in warning of taking too much), Darcy heard the front door open and close. 

 

A bit startled she looked around at the others at the table, but they seemed okay with it, if not a bit happy, so Darcy tried not to worry too much. Footsteps signalled that whoever it was, was approaching the room they were in, and Darcy figured there were too many for just one person. Realising that this must be the missing people she turned in her chair so as to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that entered the room.

 

The first person that entered was a boy, an old boy. Looking older than Thor (though this boy wasn’t as big and had dark hair-in fact he looked a bit like Uncle Phil), the boy had a face that made him seem tired, something about this eyes Darcy thought. But all these thoughts were quickly abandoned when the boy moved far enough into the room to let Darcy see the person behind him.

 

Or was she even a person, Darcy wondered. She looked closer to an angel, with her soft looking hair and happy face. She too had the tired eyes, but hers were filled with a spark that made it seem like she enjoyed whatever it was that was wearing her out.   
The two newcomers were chatting about something, deeply in conversation, not even stopping until they were sitting in the empty chairs and piling food onto their plates. The stopped talking once they began eating, before looking around the table at everyone who was sitting there, all engrossed in their own meals, except Darcy who was still staring at the angel she saw. 

 

Swallowing a mouthful of food, Uncle Phil smiled down at the angel and new boy, before clearing his throat and getting their attention. 

 

‘This is Darcy,’ he said simply gesturing to where Darcy sat, the fork still in her hand but no food on it as she gazed down at the others. ‘The boy is my eldest, Bruce.’ Phil explained. ‘And that is my sister Jane, younger if you couldn’t tell.’

 

Confusion filled both Bruce and Jane’s face, before Janes face changed to one of understanding. She leapt from her chair, a lot faster than Darcy though she was capable before running around the table towards Darcy.

 

Fear was the first thing that crossed Darcy’s mind, was this woman upset that she was sitting at the table? But it was quickly squashed by the assurance she had (that seemed to come from nowhere) that this woman was safe. This was enforced by the giant hug Darcy found herself pulled into. The woman was nice, soft and warm, and smelled lovely, clean and fresh. Darcy was unsure what to do in the hug, so she remained sitting in her chair letting the woman’s arms embrace her, absorbing the nice feelings it gave her.

 

After what seemed like forever and yet not enough time at the same time, the woman, Jane Darcy thought to herself to help her remember, pulled back from the hug, clutching Darcy’s face in her hands. Darcy noticed that Jane had tears in her eyes, and the spark that had been there was replaced by something a lot sadder, feeling guilty Darcy bowed her head, not wanting to look at the angel when she was sad. But Janes grip on her face tightened slightly, not enough to hurt but enough to get her attention, and she looked back into her eyes.

 

Jane was silent for a short moment longer before she whispered, ‘How could Vic ever do that to you,’ before pulling Darcy into another hug.

 

Darcy was greatly confused, but was content to accept the hug again. After a few more moments when Jane pulled away Darcy had noticed that the table had been cleared and the others had left, leaving just Uncle Phil standing in the doorway. He gestured his head to the side,   
‘Why don’t we move this to the lounge room and get comfortable.’ He said; the ever present smile still on his face.

 

As Darcy moved to get off the chair, she quickly found herself wrapped up in Jane’s arms. For a small lady she seemed to be able to pull a fair bit of weight, or maybe it was because Darcy was a lot smaller than the average 8 yr. old.

 

After settling on the comfy couch again, still wrapped up in Jane's arms, but angled so she could sit on her lap and look at Uncle Phil, Darcy found herself not paying much attention to what the two were talking about. 

 

It wasn’t until Uncle Phil said her name that she was drawn back into attention. 

 

‘Darcy, I said this is my sister Jane. That makes her your Aunt, okay? But you can just call her Jane, the other kids do. She works at the university doing experiments and tests. Sometimes she goes away on trips and she can tell you amazing stories if you want.’

 

Looking up at Jane, Darcy nodded shyly, wanting to hear the beautiful lady’s soft voice again. Smiling Jane began to tell a tale that seemed to involve travelling south in a van to watch the stars.

 

It wasn’t long before Darcy found herself lulled to sleep by the constant soft chatter and the warmth and safety provided by the hug.


	4. First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fluff chapter about bonding as a family, i still want to establish the relationships before i move into anything too serious. Hope you enjoy :)

 

 

 

When Darcy awoke, she found herself a bit disorientated. Instead of being in the lap of Jane, where she had fallen asleep last night, she found herself in the room that Uncle Phil had called her own. In some pajamas under the comfy blankets, with her leg slightly elevated so as to avoid the discomfort associated with the cast.

 

Unsure as to whether to get up and search out someone, or to stay in bed until she was called, Darcy opted for the latter, knowing that even if she was expected to be up, someone would come and get her before she got into too much trouble. Plus it was difficult enough getting around with her broken leg, even with the crutches that she now spied in the corner of the room (she remember seeing others use them and always wanted to try herself, just without the broken leg to go with it) and so Darcy decided staying in bed was probably the best option.

 

 

It was a while before anyone came to the door, and by a while it was more like 15 minutes, but that is ages in bored-time for Darcy. Hearing the knock on the door Darcy shifted in bed calling out softly to come in, she was not used to people knocking and not entering, normally they just barged in.

 

 

The door opened, and Uncle Phil stood in the doorway, with Jane right behind him, and smile present on both their faces.

 

 

‘Did you sleep well?’ Uncle Phil asked, his voice taking the usual softness that it had with Darcy.

 

 

Darcy nodded, noticing how rested she felt after a real night’s sleep in the most comfortable bed in the world. This made both Uncle Phil and Jane smile wider, before Uncle Phil moved aside and told her,

 

 

‘Jane is going to help you get ready for the day, and then you can come downstairs and have some breakfast, how do pancakes sound?’

 

 

Darcy didn’t know what pancakes were like, but she assumed in Uncle Phil was offering them then they couldn’t be too bad, so she nodded her head and watched as Uncle Phil left the room.

 

 

Jane walked over to her, grabbing some clothes from the bag that sat on the floor that Darcy hadn’t noticed before. Seeing her eyes on the bag Jane smiled,

 

 

‘When we found out you were coming here we went and got you some essentials, when you are feeling up to it we can go out and get more stuff that is more to you taste okay?’

 

Not quite sure if it was a question or simple statement of what was to come, Darcy still found herself nodding along to what Jane was saying. Once again Jane picked her up, cradling her body and picked up the clothes and walked to the bathroom.

 

\--------------------------

 

By the time Darcy and Jane were ‘ready for the day’, Uncle Phil was plating up stacks and stacks of pancakes. Jane walked into the room, this time only slightly supporting Darcy who was trying to work out how to use the crutches.

 

Moving to a chair that was in the corner of the room, Darcy clambered up into it. Uncle Phil placed a plate of what she assumed to be pancakes in front of her, before asking her,

 

‘Syrup or sugar?’

 

Darcy's face must of conveyed the confusion she felt because Jane, who was sitting next to her with her own pile of pancakes leaned over and spoke with a quiet voice.

 

‘Do you want syrup or sugar with your pancakes?’

 

Darcy shrugged, not sure if syrup or sugar would taste good with the pancakes, and even if she had a preference how much it would change th outcome of the question.

 

Jane, once again with her perceptiveness, asked,

‘Darcy, have you had pancakes before?’

 

 

Darcy looked into her lap. She knew she was supposed to lie when asked questions like this, her father had always told her, ‘make others think you are normal, because if they find out you aren’t even they won’t tolerate you’, but lying to Jane and Uncle Phil felt wrong, and she didn’t want to do it.

 

 

Jane and Uncle Phil seemed saddened by this revelation, and so Darcy looked back at them eager to make them happy, even if lying was the only way. But before she could, Darcy found herself in the arms of Jane again, wrapped up in a large hug. It was comforting, and Darcy knew it somehow was brought about by the fact that she had never eaten pancakes before. For a brief while Darcy wondered if this would happen before every meal, and she decided she wouldn’t mind if it did. Jane’s hugs seemed nice and comforting.

 

 

While Darcy was in the arms of Jane, Uncle Phil was busy reading her breakfast. He put some of the syrup on one of the pancakes and sprinkled some sugar on the other one. Using the knife and fork on either side of the plate, Jane proceeded to cut the pancakes in to small pieces. Looking Down at Darcy she offered the fork, and Darcy took it carefully before spearing one of the golden pieces.

 

 

It was amazing. Beautiful. One of the best things Darcy had ever eaten. The sweetness burst on her tongue, better than anything ever. Jane and Uncle Phil laughed a bit at the expression on Darcy’s face. But she wasn’t really paying attention, too eager to get another one of the pieces into her mouth.

 

 

Darcy ate steadily, pausing every now and then when Jane would offer her a drink. Darcy also discovered she loved orange juice with her pancakes, and that syrup was better than sugar. By the time Darcy had finished her first pancake, there was noise on the floor above.

 

 

Shirking further into Jane, who didn’t seem to mind and just hugged Darcy extra tight, Darcy waited as the footsteps began to descend down the stairs.

 

 

The first head to appear was Natasha, the kind girl who had offered her cake. She smiled at Darcy, and Darcy returned the expression shyly. Natasha sat at the table, not next to Jane, but one seat away. Darcy recognised it as being the same seat that Natasha sat in last night, and she wondered if there was a rule about that. Darcy made careful note of where her seat was in case there was.

 

 

Darcy watched as Natasha put some pancakes on her plate, along with what Uncle Phil called Bacon. Sitting, staring intently at Natasha as she ate, Darcy didn’t even realise that she herself had stopped eating. Jane did, glancing down to see if there was a problem, but figuring out that as long as Darcy wasn’t stressed or worried, it would be fine for her to sit observing.

 

 

Natasha had finished her food by the time anyone else came down the stairs, but the red-haired girl stayed sitting at the table as the large group of boys spread out around it, taking seats and filling plates. The noise increased exponentially as the boys began their meal, and Darcy found herself fascinated by everything in front of her.  

 

She looked around the table taking in everything, noticing that the large blonde (she thought was called Thor) was busy drinking from a mug at his place (Darcy hoped it wasn’t liquid and momentarily curled further into Jane, wanting her comfort); the slightly smaller blonde (Steve), but still quite large in Darcy’s opinion, was busy eating a pile of pancakes that was quite large, Darcy noticed he liked syrup on them just like she did. Darcy also noticed the smallest boy (Clint), the one the others had jumped on the day before, was happily perched on his seat, preferring to use his hands for food rather than the cutlery, and the oldest looking boy (Bruce) down the other end of the table looked tired and was barely concentrating on the food as he ate cereal from his bowl, instead intently looking at a book next to his bowl.

 

 

Darcy also noticed the empty chairs. The chair that was next to her was still empty, but that was Uncle Phil's spot, and Darcy was pretty sure he was in the kitchen making more food, but the chair that sat in between Bruce and Thor was empty. Darcy tried to think about the strange boy that had sat there the night before (Tony), but hardly being able to remember anything beside the odd faces he liked to pull to try and make her laugh she turned to Jane.

 

 

‘Where’s that one?’ Darcy asked, voice soft pointing at the chair. She wondered if perhaps he had done something bad and so wasn’t allowed breakfast. Maybe she should take him some so that he might return the favour one day. Or maybe it was better not to get on the bad side of anyone yet.

 

 

Jane looked at where she was pointing before scrunching up her forehead.

‘Tony was probably up late last night playing with his toys and is still sleeping. Don’t worry, because it is holidays Phil is pretty easy-going about sleep-ins. And he won’t miss out on food.’

 

Satisfied with the answer, Darcy finishes her own food, loving the warm comfortable feeling in her stomach.

 

Once the group has completed their eating, Steve gets up and begins collecting dishes. Before she can offer to help (Darcy knows that if you do people are more likely to be nice to you), Jane is picking her up and taking her into another room.

 

 

Darcy remembers this room from the night before, it is filled with large soft chairs and cushions. Photos line all the walls except for one, which was instead covered shelves of books and other things.

 

 

Jane carefully places Darcy on the couch before standing up and looking at her a frown on her face.

 

‘Do you know TV?’ she asked her expression not changing, and while Darcy could tell Jane wasn’t angry, she was unable to decide what emotion she was showing. Darcy shook her head. ‘So no DVD’s then? Movies? Cartoons?’

 

At each question Darcy shook her head, feeling a bit like she was not living up to Jane's expectations, which in turn made Darcy feel sad.

 

Jane was quick to notice the change in Darcy's demeanor and so she sat down next to the girl, circling her arms around her in a hug, not knowing what else to do.

 

‘How about we just have a movie day, and we can watch all my favourites, or you can choose some based on the covers and we can get comfortable under some blankets?’

 

Upon hearing Jane's words Darcy thought that that sounded nice, and wanting to make sure that it happened and it wasn’t an empty promise she quickly said.

 

‘You pick.’ Before burrowing herself into the corner of the lounge, getting comfortable.

 

 

Jane smiled before getting up.

 

 

‘Let’s start somewhere easy’, she said, fiddling around with the black box under the screen.

 

 

Darcy was shocked when cartoons pictures appeared on it (normally it was just used to watch people run around in different coloured shirts throwing balls to each other), but was quickly appeased when her. Jane moved over to a box in the corner of the room, removing blankets and extra cushions before returning to Darcy.

 

 

Carefully Jane arranged them so Darcy was curled up into her side, her Leg elevated and under a blanket, the images on the screen capturing Darcy’s complete attention.

 

 

Half way through the movie, which Jane had called The Little Mermaid, Steve popped his head into the room, asking if they wanted company. At Darcy's hesitant nod, Jane invited him in and it wasn’t long before Clint, Tony, Natasha and Thor had joined them in the room watching the movie.

 

 

They watched heaps of movies that day, having a small break for lunch where Darcy discovered her love for grilled cheese. In the afternoon even Bruce and Uncle Phil joined, bringing popcorn and chocolate, which Darcy decided, went perfect with Movies.

 

 

All in all, Darcy really enjoyed her first full day these people, and she hoped with all her heart that every day that followed would be just as good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Learning new things

 

 

Over the next few weeks that followed that first amazing day, Darcy learnt a lot of new things.

 

 

\-------------------

 

 

The first thing Darcy learnt was that Uncle Phil’s name wasn’t actually Uncle Phil.

 

They had been sitting at the table for dinner that first night, when Clint had asked

 

‘Dad, can you pass me the bread?’

 

Darcy had looked around, wondering where her father was, not that she ever actually called him ‘Dad’ preferring to actually avoid talking to or about him whenever possible. But as she watched Uncle Phil pick up the bowl of bread and pass it to Clint, Darcy became very confused.

 

As always Jane had immediately noticed Darcy’s reaction, turned towards the young girl.

 

‘Whats wrong?’ Jane asked in a voice that made Darcy want to answer.

 

‘That’s Uncle Phil?’ Darcy asked, pointing to the man she thought was called Uncle Phil.

 

‘Yes’ Jane answered with some hesitation, not quite understand what was happening.

 

But Darcy just nodded her head, happy that Uncle Phil was still Uncle Phil.

 

After dinner, while the older kids cleaned up the kitchen and Jane was helping Bruce with some science stuff in the office, Darcy was seated with Just Natasha in the lounge room, the TV playing one of Darcy's new found favourite movies. Looking sideways at Uncle Phil she noticed him fully immersed in the film, laughing at something that was happening.

 

Darcy felt safe around this girl, she was nice and shared her cake, but there was something about her eyes that made Darcy think they shared a lot in common. Feeling confident she asked,

 

‘Why does Clint call Uncle Phil Dad?’

 

Natasha quirked her eyebrow and looked at Darcy, waiting for her to elaborate.

 

Darcy shrugged her shoulders. ‘Clint calls him Dad, but Jane says his name is Uncle Phil. I don’t know which one to call him so he doesn’t get angry?’ She said, her voice giving away her uncertainty.

 

Natasha exhaled sharply, but her expression was more one of sadness than anger, so Darcy didn’t feel too uncomfortable.

 

‘Darcy, you know what a father is right?’ at Darcy’s nod she continued. ‘Okay, so Clint is the son of Phil so he calls him dad. Whereas Phil is you Uncle, so you call him Uncle Phil. His actual name is Phil’

 

Darcy was confused. The man had so many names. She waited for Natasha to continue but she remained silent, looking at her as if expecting her to answer.

 

‘What do you call him?’ Darcy asked, because from what Uncle Phil/Phil/Dad had explained, Natasha had been one of the children to not be actually related to him, and maybe her advice could help Darcy avoid trouble.

 

Natasha Shrugged, ‘At first I just called him Phil, but after a while it didn’t feel close enough, so I started calling him Uncle Phil. Around last year I realised that I wanted to be in this family for real, so I started calling him Dad. But Darcy, you can keep calling him Uncle Phil. He understands you don’t need to call him anything else.’

 

Darcy ducked her head. ‘I thought it was his name,’ she admitted. ‘I didn’t know he was my for real Uncle. But, for him to be my Uncle he needs to be related to my parent’s right?’ Darcy's looked at Natasha, but her mind was whirling. She didn’t want Uncle Phil to turn into either of her parents.

 

 ‘I’ll take it from here Natasha, you can go find the boys upstairs and play.’ Darcy turned to see her Uncle Phil in the doorway, and she also watched as Natasha got off the couch and left the room.

 

Uncle Phil walked over and took Natasha’s abandoned seat on the couch.

 

‘Your mum,’ he began and Darcy's mind was immediately thrown back to the dark room her mother stayed in, filled with smells of the Liquid and smoke. ‘Your mum was my sister. She and I were close in age, just a couple years in between us. We were both pretty grown when Jane was born, and I put a lot of effort into looking after the new baby that I didn’t realise my other sister needed just as much care. She got caught up in the wrong people at school, and it wasn’t long before she disappeared. To be truthful Darcy I hadn’t heard anything about her for over 15 years. When the police called me and told me you had been brought to the hospital it was the first I even knew you existed. ‘

 

Darcy looked into her Uncles face, feeling saddened by the tears she saw there. She wanted to comfort him, tell him that she was glad she had brought her to this nice clean safe place, but something in her mind told her that it wouldn’t really help the situation. Instead, she shifted her body so she was leaning up against Uncle Phil and wrapped her arms around him in a somewhat hug.

 

She could hear him mumbling some more words, but couldn’t make anything out.

 

Even though she had no experience, Darcy decided then she liked having an Uncle, even if his names got a bit confusing.

 

\------------------------

After the mix up over Uncles and the like, Uncle Phil had explained how Jane was her Aunt, and she could call her Aunt Jane if she wanted. After careful consideration, Darcy decided to just stick with Jane for the time being, and Jane didn’t seem to mind, her face still breaking into a smile whenever Darcy said her name.

 

Uncle Phil decided to test Darcy to see what level of schooling she should be at. Even though she was enrolled in first grade, most of the time Darcy didn’t actually attend school, and the days she did she was either too tired or hungry to pay attention. Uncle Phil had been able to get her records from the school and he had spent a fair while looking over the piece of paper shaking his head, before having a very stress filled conversation with Jane that Darcy could only make out some words of.

 

Shortly after Phil had sat down and told her that over the summer holidays, of which there was still 6 weeks left, she would be doing some activities to try and catch her up to speed with the rest of her grade.

 

When she was told the news, Darcy was not thrilled. She knew what school as like and it was boring, but she was willing to try anything Uncle Phil suggested if it meant she got to stay.

 

But the way Darcy was taught here was way more fun that what she had done before in school.

 

One day they made cookies with cut-outs that were letters and Uncle Phil got her to put them in order and make words with them and once they were finished she could eat them (she also shared with everyone else who seemed to be hanging around waiting for them).

 

Another day Thor brought home small pieces of coloured card so she could choose the paint for her new walls, and Darcy spent hours pointing out colours and learning their names. It wasn’t long before everyone was gather around the table pointing out their favourites; Clint (Purple), Natasha (Red), Bruce (Green), Tony (Gold), Steve (Blue) and Thor (Silver). Darcy decided on a nice soft yellow for her room.

 

One day when Uncle Phil had to go into work, Jane had pulled Candy land, and Darcy had great fun counting her way around the board.

 

Late one afternoon, after lunch Darcy had managed to hobble her way on her crutches into the lounge room and found everyone sitting around with books in their hands.

 

Moving to the only available chair, Darcy found herself seated next to Steve, and it wasn’t long before her eyes drifted to the book he was reading. It was filled with lots of squares with pictures inside. Noticing she was looking Steve smiled at her.

 

 ‘It’s called a graphic novel,’ he said. ‘But most people just call them comics. They are like cartoons you can read. Do you want to read it with me?’

 

Darcy nodded her head shyly, and so Steve twisted his body and angle the book (graphic novel Darcy corrected herself) so she could see it too.

 

‘You know your letters right?’ Steve asked to which Darcy nodded. ‘And you know your sounds?’ Darcy nodded, but a bit more hesitantly.

 

‘Well,’ Steve continued. ‘When you read, you just put the sounds together to make words. This this here is C-A-R. And so if you sound out the cuh-ah-r, you get the word Car.’

 

Finished his explanation Steve grinned at Darcy. She smiled in return but had no real idea what was happening.

 

‘Gosh Steve that was a terrible explanation,’ A voice form the other side of the room popped up and Darcy turned to see Tony lounging on the window-seat. ‘If you want her to learn properly teach her properly. I think we still have a few of Clint’s old books somewhere. I will go get them to stop this spiraling out of control.’

 

And with that Tony left the room. Darcy stayed where she was, unsure of what exactly was going on, but it wasn’t long before Tony returned his hands filled with brightly coloured books.

 

And so that was how Darcy first learnt to properly read. Tony sat beside her and was patient as she sounded out all her words. It took a lot of concentration that Darcy was not used to exhibiting, but apparently she was a natural (at least that’s what the other told her).

 

And whenever she needed a break, she would sit next to Steve and listen as he read aloud from his graphic novel, a story about superheros with powers who saved the world from the bad guys.

 

Darcy decided that she liked reading, and learning and maybe being taught things could be a good idea.

 

\-------------------------

One afternoon, about a week into her stay at Uncle Phil's house Darcy first meets her ‘Aunt’ Maria and ‘Grandpa’ Nick.

 

Jane and Bruce were at the University and Thor was at Work.  And Uncle Phil had been called into work to help out with something extremely important. Rather than leave Steve to try and control the other kids, Uncle Phil had called Maria from next door and asked her to come over and help out.

 

Upon their introduction, Uncle Phil had explained that even though Maria was not related to the family, the others called her Aunt because she was practically family anyway. Darcy was glad Phil explained, otherwise she probably would have spent ages trying to figure out how Maria was related to and if she was Darcy’s Aunt as well.

 

Darcy had fun with Aunt Maria. She wasn’t quite the angel like Jane, and she didn’t provide quick the calm assurance like Phil did, but she still felt like safety. Plus she let Darcy choose the movie and they got to have popcorn before dinner which was super great.

 

And Aunt Maria was filled with super cool stories that were so fun to listen to. So Darcy wasn’t that upset when she had to look after them.

 

\---------------------------

In the first few weeks at her new house, Darcy also learnt that she had a grandpa. Once again Phil explained that it wasn’t a real grandpa, because Phil’s parent had died a few years ago, and Darcy wasn’t even sure if her real dad had parents left alive either.

 

But Nick was a guy who had mentored Phil when Phil was younger, taking on a father-role and so this led to all the other kids in the house calling him ‘grandpa-Nick’.

 

Darcy thought Grandpa-Nick was okay.  The first time he came to visit he bought a present for her. Darcy was shocked, because she didn’t really know what to do when presented with the brown paper box, and she was slightly worried about everyone else being mad that she got a present and they didn’t. So like in all situations when she was unsure, she looked to Phil for guidance.

 

Moving to stand next to her, Phil knelt down to her level.

 

‘It’s just a welcome present. Nick is very generous and he wants to make you feel like a real part of the family. No one else minds, in fact they all helped pick this out for you.’

 

Like always, Phil was able to reassure any doubts Darcy had without her having to express them.

 

Carefully pulling apart the tape and opening the package, Darcy was amazed to see a very soft looking teddy bear. Its coat a nice reddish brown and it eyes shining bright and happy. She smiled softly up to grandpa-Nick.

 

‘Thanks’ she whispered at him, her own grin growing as his did.

 

‘A bear that special needs a special name don’t you think?’ Grandpa-Nick hinted.

 

Darcy looked over the bear critically, scrutinizing every angle.

 

‘Mr Snuggles’, she finally declared, looking up as Grandpa-Nick burst out into laughter, joining him as he praised her for such a good name choice and proceeding to go around the room and introduce Darcy and Mr Snuggles to all the other family members.

 

And Darcy decides maybe grandpa-Nick is as fun to have around as Aunt Maria.

 

 

\-------------------------

 

 

Another thing Darcy found off about the new house was food.

 

There was always food. Never did she have to sneak into the kitchen after dark and try and find some un-mouldy bread. Never did she have to save half her sandwich for another day, or try and go a day without food. Never did she have to do any of that kind fo stuff, because every day there was food.

 

And plenty of it. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner the table was piled high with plates and pots and bowls. And that wasn’t all, because even between meals there was heaps of food. Snacks and fruit and drinks, more variety than Darcy had though possible.

 

However after the time she decided she wanted one of the cookies in the cookie jar on the top shelf that had required climbing up the chair onto the bench top and stretching on her tippy-toes resulting in a broken jar, cut hand and crying Darcy (how she managed to do it with a leg still in a cast Phil will never know), the rule was stated that if Darcy was hungry she would get someone else to help her with food.

 

And Darcy was happy to comply, especially since whenever she went to Thor or Jane they would sneak her a pop-tart from their super-secret stash (Clint and Natasha would always revert to Phil which normally meant a piece of fruit; Steve was all for helping her bake something, but that usually took time; Bruce and Tony would always tell her to hold on a second and then forget.)

 

 

\-------------------------

 

 

As Darcy spends more time with the family, she discovers things about them she never would have otherwise though.

 

For instance, Phil greatly enjoys gardening on his days off, happy to work pulling out weeds or planting new flowers. He sets up a bench in the shade of the big tree on the side so Darcy can sit and watch him while he works.

 

Darcy learns Tony has a night light because sometimes he has really bad dreams and it helps if he wakes from them to see the shining blue light on his wall.

 

Darcy learns Steve loves to draw, maybe even more than he loves baseball (but he doesn't tell anyone for some reason), and Darcy often sees him with his pad and pencil drawing different things, from trees and flowers to the family watching TV. One time he even drew some cool looking animals for Darcy to color.

 

Darcy learns that Thor has a brother that lives at a different house and he misses him terribly but can’t visit often because he lives in the next town over. Darcy does love to hear stories about Thor’s childhood and the adventures he had with his brother Loki.

 

Darcy learns Jane loves to relax while knitting, and it isn't long before she lets Darcy pick colours of the wool and knits her a nice blanket to cover her bed. Darcy thinks it to be the nicest blanket she has ever seen, especially since it’s made of every bright colour wool that Jane had in her collection.

 

Darcy learns that Clint can’t hear right and so sometimes he has to wear a device behind his ear called a hearing aide. And he doesn’t like wearing it, but will if Phil puts on his stern face and tells him in her serious voice.

 

Darcy learns that Bruce loves drinking tea, and they always smell nice. One time when she was visiting in his room he showed her his collection and she spent hours smelling all the different tins before choosing the one she liked most for him to drink that day.

 

And Darcy learns that Natasha loves to dance. Darcy often finds herself stuck watching Natasha as she moves around the rec room, flowing with the music, looking amazing in her movements. Sometimes she forces Steve to join her and they do set steps, but mostly she just chooses a random song and moves to it. Darcy loves watching that.

 

 

\-------------------------

 

 

When Darcy was taken back to the hospital 4 weeks after arriving in her new home to have her cast removed, she believes she has learnt all there is to currently know. But she is wrong.

 

Because while at the hospital, the doctors decided she needs a full check-up which leads to her getting her ears and eyes checked.

 

 

And it isn’t long before Uncle Phil is showing her frames for glasses talking about how it was bound to happen based on how bad Vic’s eyes were (Darcy thinks he is maybe talking about her mum?) and explain how she is short sighted and that’s why she finds it hard to see things far away.

 

 

And Darcy does realise 3 days later when she first puts on her new glasses that everything does look clearer, and happier and brighter.

 

 

 

But she is not sure if that is the new glasses, or the new life she has been given with Uncle Phil and the family, where she can continue to learn new things every day that happens.

 

 

 

 


	6. 'Hide and Seek'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first Chapter i wrote that got this whole story going, if anything seems out of place based on what the other parts of the story let me know!

 

 

It was a couple weeks later. Everything had been going fine, great even, but Darcy new it couldn't last. Because all good things must come to an end some how.  

 

 

Darcy didn’t mean to be snooping, Thor had told her that he was happy for her to get the comic books from his room if she wanted, and she had just finished the other one and Thor was too busy being in charge, seeing as Phil had taken Jane and Bruce to some lecture at the university, so she didn’t feel bad going into his room.  But it was after she entered the room that she saw it, the brown glass bottle. She knew what the bottle meant. She knew what happened when the bottles that looked like that came out. Cautiously she crept over to it, sniffing lightly at the lid. The smell was there, bringing back memories of dark night and pain.  

 

Darcy grabbed the bottle running to the bathroom right next door and poured the liquid down the sink, not wanting it to get to anyone in this nice house. Once it was empty she buried the bottle underneath some clothes in the laundry basket before she realised what she had done. Not only had she taken something she wasn’t supposed to, she had gotten rid of it. Darcy had learned early from her father not to touch the Liquid, let alone tip it out. Plus the bottle had only been half full, which meant that Thor had drunk the other half.

 

Darcy’s first instinct was to run. She wanted to hide, but she didn’t know this place too well; she didn’t know a safe spot where she could escape to. All she wanted to do was get away, at least until the Liquid made Thor sleepy enough. Darcy knew that while the Liquid made you angry, but after a while it made you sleepy and after having a sleep a lot of the anger was gone.  

 

Quickly Darcy slipped out of the bathroom, keeping an eye out for the gigantic boy, his heavy steps loud enough for her to avoid.  Looking around quickly she tried to decide on a place for her to hide until Thor could sleep off the Liquid. She hurried to her room keeping a constant eye out for anyone that may stop her. Once in her room she glanced around trying to find a suitable hiding spot. She thought about under her bed and quickly crossed off that idea, remembering a bad experience. She thought about in the air vent and once again crossed it off as she was too short to even think about reaching it.  Finally she saw her closet, filled with clothes Jane, Maria and Natasha had helped her choose as well as the things from her old house. She walked quickly towards it wanting to be hidden as soon as possible. She slipped inside quickly climbing up cupboards and crawling behind her warm winter coats on the top shelf, covering herself with them blending her in. She was sure to leave a crack of the door open so she could see into her room and be prepared for if someone came into the room.

 

 

 

But being surrounded by the warm coats was actually quite comfortable and it wasn’t long before Darcy found herself drifting off for an afternoon nap.

 

\--------------------

 

She awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her bedroom door. This confused her, normally when her father had drunk his Liquid he wasn’t polite enough to knock on doors, granted he was never polite to knock, but still. She saw her room door creep open before Thor stuck his head in, looking around the room.

 

‘Darcy’, his deep voice sounded softly through the room.

 

Darcy shrunk back further into the coats trying to remain quiet so not to give away her position. She watched as Thor shrugged his shoulders and pulled his head out of the room. Instantly she felt guilty, maybe she should have tried to warm the others about Thor and the Liquid, it was too late now and leaving could give away her hiding spot.

 

Darcy could hear Thor’s voice, probably down in the lounge room for the way it was slightly muffled. He seemed to be talking to Steve; whatever they were talking about didn’t take long before she heard them calling her name again.

 

‘Darcy’, the boys called, their loud voices sounding much more terrifying then their normal quite tones. Sure she had heard them shouting before but normally it was at the other kids and so now Darcy didn’t feel so good.

 

She heard Clint yell back at them about yelling in the house, before she heard the sounds of Steve's thuds (not as heavy as Thor's, but still quite loud compared tot he others) as he went up the stairs to Clint’s room, which was right next to hers.

 

‘Have you seen Darcy’, Steve’s voice sounded.

 

‘Not for a while’, Clint replied. ‘I remember we were in the study reading and she had to go get another book to read. But she never did come back. I thought she found something more interesting to do.’

 

‘How long ago was that’ Steve asked.

 

‘Ummm, like a couple hours?’ Clint responded. ‘Just after lunch.’

 

‘What’s going on here?’ Darcy stilled as she heard Tony’s voice. ‘Are you guys having a hallway party and didn’t invite me? I am crushed.’

 

‘Oh shut it,’ Steve growled. ‘Have you seen Darcy? Was she with you in the garage?’

 

‘Nope’, Tony answered his joking tone vanishing. ‘Maybe she is with Natasha?’

 

‘Who is with Natasha?’ Natasha voice joined the others in the hall. Darcy stilled trying to stop breathing in case she made a sound.

 

‘Darcy seems to be missing’ Steve told her. ‘And we have no idea where she could be. Thor is checking downstairs in the usual spaces and I came up here to ask Clint if he had seen her, which apparently he hasn’t. ‘

 

Darcy heard the exhale of someone she thought was Natasha. ‘Well I guess we had better split up and look for her then.’ And she listened as footsteps went off in all directions.

 

This was not good. Not only had Thor had the Liquid and using his loud voice, but Natasha seemed annoyed and Steve had gotten really close to saying one of the bad words, plus Tony had left the Garage and Clint had had to stop playing early, which she knew normally made them mad at Phil. Great, Darcy thought, now everyone in the house wanted to get her.

 

It was a tough hour, a few times one of the others had entered her room looking under her bed or beside her dolls house, and Steve had even lifted Clint to check the air vent. When Tony had come in to check the bottom of her cupboard Darcy had gone so still someone could have mistaken her for a statue. The yelling from all of them had gotten louder and louder until Thor just seemed to be bellowing in a loud angry voice.

 

Then it got real quiet really quick.

 

From her spot in the cupboard Darcy shifted her head slightly and saw Phil’s car pull into driveway. She heard as the front door opened and slammed making the whole house shake as all of the kids ran out to Phil, Thor in the lead.

 

Thor and Phil spoke quickly for a few minutes before Phil raced into the house.

 

Once again the door opened and slammed. Darcy could hear Phil calling for her, but she was still worried.

 

What if Phil was angry at her for staying hidden for so long? He had left Thor in charge and she had gone against what Thor had said? Didn’t that mean, because of the house rules, that he could punish her. And if he had been drinking the Liquid don’t that mean punishments would really hurt?

 

This train of thought is what made Darcy stay in her hiding place when Phil tore into her room, throwing things and searching. He seemed angry, and Darcy liked it when Phil was nice. That’s what she focussed on as she saw him run from the room ,most likely off to search other places, she remembered his laugh, the way he hugged her, the way he smelled like safety and home, the way he read bedtimes stories, or joined in their games before dinner. And it was with these happy thoughts that Darcy drifted off to sleep again.

 

\--------------------

 

This time when Darcy woke it was because of her stomach. She held her breath as the loud grumble echoed in the closet. Noticing it was dark out she decided now was a better time than any to come out of hiding. It was night time and the Liquid had always made her father sleepy at night time, maybe Thor had fallen asleep, and if he was asleep he couldn’t hurt her.  And maybe when they all woke up tomorrow they wouldn’t remember what happened, that often happened when her father used to drink the Liquid. Deciding that her stomach was hungry enough to face what her punishment may be Darcy found herself carefully climbing down her cupboards.

 

She looked around the room and noticed its messy state. Someone had come in while she was sleeping and cleaned up a bit; putting her covers back on her bed and her books back on her shelf, but it was nowhere near the normal state of tidiness she liked for her room. Darcy tossed up between cleaning it and food, and eventually it was the rumbling of her stomach that won out.

 

There was a time when she could easily go a day without food; she had done it quite a few times at her old house when her mother was either too tired or confused to make her food. But being here in Phil’s house, with the nice food had made her body used to getting at least 3 meals a day and when it didn’t it got upset.

 

Slowly she opened the door as quietly as she could and stuck her head into the hallway. Noting it was empty she began her journey to the kitchen. Darcy paused on the stairs listening out for any noises, hearing nothing she crept down them slowly holding tight to the railing to prevent falling and hurting herself. She quickly ran over towards the kitchen doorway but paused and looked in the lounge room at the odd sights.

 

The TV was on, but no sound came out, and all the children were gathered in front of it, not watching it but fast asleep. Clint was curled up on one end of the couch his head resting on the armrest, Tony was next to him, hand curled around his ankle as if he needed reassurance Clint was there. Natasha was on the other end curled up against Tony tightly. Bruce sat in one of the recliners sprawled out half covered by a quilt and Steve was curled up on the floor in front of him half on the ottoman clutching Bunny.

 

In fact now she looked closer she could see that Bruce’s quilt was actually the blanket off her bed and Tony and Natasha were both curled around Mr Snuggles while Clint was resting his head on her favourite T-Shirt. This confused and scared Darcy. Did they wait up to get angry at her? Did they have her favourite things so they could take them away like her father used to do when she had been bad?

 

Backing slowly out of the room Darcy made her way to the kitchen, not bothering to try and get her stuff for fear it would wake them up.

 

In the Kitchen Darcy was met with another odd sight. Phil half on a stool half slumped against the breakfast bar his head on his arms the phone clutched tightly in his hand. She looked and saw the crochet blanket Jane had given her in his arms, his face buried in it as if waiting for it to tell him a secret.

 

Carefully Darcy edged around him and made her way to the fridge. Then she stopped. One rule that she had been given was that the older ones were in charge of food. If she was hungry she was supposed to ask them and they would get it for her. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Darcy decided that waking Phil was better than getting him angrier with her, even though she knew when you wake someone up they get mad, even she did sometimes. But with Thor not being seen, or Jane for that matter, she felt safe enough at the moment.

 

She crept back over to where Phil was slumped and softly tapped his arm. When she got no response she tapped it again whispering his name.

 

‘Phil’ she breathed. ‘Phil. I’m hungry and I know I’ve been bad but maybe you could just give me a little bit to eat and then punish me afterwards? Unless this is punishment, and then can you tell me so I know.’

 

Phil grumbled at her words shifting his head slightly.

 

‘Not now Darce,’ he croaked out. ‘I’m tired.’

 

Not wanting to overstep boundaries Darcy quickly took two steps back and was just about to leave the room when she heard Phil move.

 

‘Wait what! Darcy! You’re real! Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened? Are you fine?’ all his questions came at once, his voice getting louder, as he sat up and took steps towards her.

 

Not sure what was happening Darcy soon found herself pressed into the corner of the room, slowly sliding to the ground hands in front of her face.

 

‘Sorry Phil, I’m sorry’ she cried out tears forming in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, please don’t hurt, please. ‘

 

Realising he was causing her stress Phil quickly settled down.

 

‘It’s okay Darcy’, he said taking a few steps back giving her room to breathe which she hadn’t realised she needed until she felt her chest tighten up. ‘It’s okay Darling, everything will be alright, just take deep breaths, and there we go.’

 

The voices seemed to have woken up the others and they came barrelling in from the other room. Noticing their wide surprised eyes Darcy cowered further thinking that leaving the closet was a bad idea. Phil saw her cringe further and directed the children to back up.

 

‘Bruce, call Jane tell her Darcy is here and they can come back. Clint, Tony, Steve go to bed I promised you could stay up until we found her and now its bedtime. Natasha…’ at this his eyes flickered towards Darcy, which made her cringe not knowing what was coming next.

 

Bruce left his phone in his hand already dialling a number, Clint, Tony and Steve all grumbled a bit but trudged up to bed obviously too tired to argue fully, Phil backed further away from Darcy until he was back at the breakfast bar. Natasha slowly began to move forward and Darcy realised she had Bunny in her hands offering him out to her, with her arms stretched as far as they could trying not to get too close.

 

Slowly, watching her for movements that would indicate anything Darcy reached out for Bunny, before snatching him at the last second from Natasha’s hands. Cradling bunny to her chest and pushing her nose into his fur she watched as Natasha slowly sank down to the ground until she was sitting cross legged in front of Darcy.

 

‘Are you okay Darcy?’ Natasha asked, and Darcy could feel Phil’s eyes on her as she answered with a nod of her head. She was okay now; she had Bunny, even though he smelled like Steve she didn’t mind plus while everyone had seemed angry they didn’t hurt her. She was still hungry but decided not to bring that up just yet.

 

Natasha smiled a little at her, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes which concerned Darcy. Softly, so soft she wasn’t sure if she was actually hearing things or not, Natasha began to sing. The words were unfamiliar but the tune reminded her of the song Natasha had sung to her on the first night. As she sang Natasha slowly began to inch forward until she was close enough to Darcy to touch. She extended her hand but held it a couple inches off of Darcy’s skin, just in case she didn’t want the contact, all the while still singing.

 

Giving into the feelings the song was evoking, Darcy leant into Natasha’s touch finding comfort when the older girl drew her into a hug, pulling Darcy onto her lap. Continuing to sing and rock her gently Darcy found herself being lulled into a state of peacefulness.

 

After a while Darcy heard the car pull up and the sound of two doors slamming she winched, curling further into Natasha who continued to sing and rock her. Darcy heard the front door open and the quiet murmurings of talking; Bruce must have met whoever it was at the door.

 

She heard footsteps get closer as whoever it was moved towards the kitchen. Thought he doorway came Bruce followed by Jane who instantly ran to Darcy, taking her out of Natasha’s arms and holding her close to her chest. Immediately Darcy felt the calm that only Jane could provide, her safe haven in the storm. Cuddling closer to the woman she missed as Natasha left the room with a quick hug to Phil who was still over by the breakfast bar. What she didn’t miss however was the large figure that blocked the door.

 

Thor looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept in days rather than just one night. Darcy wondered if he had time to sleep and so anger from the Liquid would be gone. She wondered if he knew she had thrown the rest of the liquid away or if he had been too busy looking for her to search for the missing bottle. Instantly she curled into Jane’s body, further away from Thor. Jane noticed and her eyes flickered from Darcy to Thor, unanswered questions clear in them.

 

‘Darcy,’ Thor’s usually loud joyful voice was quiet and filled with sadness. ‘Are you okay?’

 

Darcy nodded, knowing that admitting her fear would do nothing. But it didn’t stop her crying, the stress over whelming her. Darcy clutched closer to Jane’s shirt the sobs making it difficult to apologise.

 

‘I am sorry … scared … please don’t … had to get rid of it … no more pain ... Liquid bad … sorry … please … sorry’

 

‘Darcy what do you mean?’ Phil asked and she realised he had stood up and moved closer to Thor, who had a look of devastation on his face.

 

Taking a deep breath Darcy tried again, still clinging to Jane and Bunny for security.

 

‘I was just looking for a new book and you said that was okay, and I didn’t mean to snoop, but it was on your desk and it was open so I sniffed it and it smelt like the Liquid and I didn’t want that here cause it makes people mad so I tipped it out but then I thought you would be mad because you had had some so I hid because you are big and then I got hungry so I came down here, But everyone else was mad because I was hiding and you’re not supposed to hide anytime especially when you deserve it…’ She broke off when she saw the look on Phil’s face go from confusion to understanding and sadness.

 

‘Oh Darcy’ he murmured as he looked to Jane. ‘Why don’t you put Darcy to bed, I think I know what happened.’

 

The thought of having to let Jane go when there could still be angry people around frightened Darcy who grabbed tighter to Jane’s shirt.

 

‘It’s okay Darce,’ Jane whispered in her ear. ‘We can share my room tonight’, before she moved out of the kitchen. Jane stopped in the lounge room picking up Mr Snuggles and the small blanket before carrying them all to her room where she softly laid Darcy down in the bed.

 

‘I’m just going to get changed okay Darcy. I will just be in the other room and back real quick’.

 

Darcy was reluctant to let her go, but she was really tired, and the hunger in her tummy had died down enough to let her sleep. Slowly drifting off surrounded by her safety items which smelled like the other kids Darcy barely noticed when Jane slipped back into bed curling her arms around Darcy in a protective manner.

 

 

 

 


	7. Breakfast and Declarations

 

 

The following morning was tough for Darcy. Her eyes were tired and struggled to open to the bright sun shining through the window signalling it was well into the day. Her mind was filled with the memories from the day before.

Darcy noticed that Jane was no longer in bed, but Bunny was still clutched tightly in her arms, and Mr Snuggles had been placed on the bed next to her.

 

 

There is a part of Darcy that comes up with the thought of running to Grandpa-Nick if Thor or Phil get too angry at her. But she pushes this thought away. Phil hadn’t seemed that angry last night, and Darcy knew that if he was angry at her it would probably be her fault for hiding anyway so running away wasn’t the right choice.

 

 

Darcy decided to just face up to her problems, so she got out of Janes bed, still holding Bunny to her chest, and opened the door to the hallway.

 

Jane’s new room was on the bottom floor, so as she opened the door she could clearly hear noise coming from the kitchen and lounge room.

 

It sounded like there were a few people in the lounge room, and wanting to avoid anyone that may be angry with her Darcy decided to first head to the kitchen to scope out the situation (plus she was like super hungry, apparently crying, hiding in fear and not eating for a day does that to a person).

 

Jane was in the kitchen, washing up pots and pans left over from breakfast. Steve was by her side carefully drying the dishes as they were cleaned, before passing them to Bruce to put away. Darcy entered the room slowly, standing still in the doorway waiting for someone to notice her.

 

 

Part of her wants to run to Jane for comfort, but this is overruled by not wanting to make anyone mad. The friendships she had built over the last few weeks with everyone is tested by her actions of yesterday. Darcy wonders if Thor will ever like her again, she pictures his face from last night in her mind, the sadness she had seen there, before she is startled out of her thoughts by Janes voice.

 

‘Hey Darling’, Jane says softly walking over to Darcy. ‘There is some breakfast for you in the fridge. Go sit down and I will reheat it for you’ Jane says before pushing Darcy towards the door of the dining room.

 

Darcy enters the dining room to find it empty. She quickly hurries to the chair that has become hers and climbs into it to find a knife and fork laid out for her. Just as she settles Phil walks into the room, a serious expression on his face.

 

Darcy shrinks into the chair.

 

Seeing her reaction, Phil's face turns sad, before he carefully sits next to Darcy, in the seat he normally sat at for meals.

 

‘Darcy,’ he started his voice soft just like Janes had been. ‘It’s okay Darcy, I am not mad. I just want to understand what happened; and let you know, that we all love you, no matter what you think. We will protect you and we will never hurt you. Okay?’

 

Darcy shrugs her shoulders, not looking up into Phil's eyes. Phil can make all those promises but there is nothing stopping the others from following. Especially Thor, he is super big, way bigger than Phil and if he really wanted to hurt her he could.

 

‘I wish you could understand.’ Phil sighs before leaning over gently and hugging her.

 

Darcy hadn’t realised how much she had wanted a hug until Phil had carefully folded his arms around her, providing her with warmth and security. Slowly, Darcy bought her arms up around Phil's back, leaning into the hug, making it last as long as possible. She may not trust that everything would be good, but at least at the moment it isn’t bad.

 

Just as Darcy is thinking about breaking the hug, Jane walks in with a plate of food and places it before her. Digging in Darcy doesn’t come up for air until the plate is half empty. She smiles at Jane cheeks full of food and Jane giggles at her face.

 

It’s not long before Darcy is giggling as well, and she hears Phil's quiet chuckles from beside her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

By the time Darcy has finished eating and is helping Jane clean up the dishes, the other kids have all come downstairs.

 

Everyone is happy to see Darcy throwing smiles in her direction with warmth in their eyes, but keeping their distance as if not to spook her.

 

Thor had come downstairs and immediately kept as far away from Darcy as possible. Seeing this had saddened Darcy, who knew how much the giant boy loved being around her, so she had cautiously approached him. Hoping that he hadn’t had any of the Liquid this morning, and knowing that if he had, Darcy would have Uncle Phil to protect her, Darcy was filled with bravery.

 

 

Picking up a plate of eggs from the kitchen, Darcy carefully carried them over to Thor and where he sat at the table. Placing them in front of him, she smiled before saying,

 

‘I know they are your favourite.’

 

Thor looked at her, right in her eyes for what seemed like no time and all the time in the world before her extended his arms towards her slowly and gently.

 

Understanding what was happening, Darcy carefully lent into the hug, enjoying the warmth and comfort that Thor’s big arms provided, very similar to the feelings Phil's Hugs gave her. Smiling, Darcy pulled away before kissing Thor on his cheek and skipping back into the kitchen to continue helping Jane.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Once breakfast was all finished and all the kids had brushed their teeth and gotten fully ready for the day, Uncle Phil called a family meeting in the living room.

 

Darcy had never been to a family meeting before, so she followed Clint into the room and found a seat next to Natasha on the lounge, wondering what was going to happen.

 

Uncle Phil stood in the middle of the room, everyone else on various seats around the room. Darcy noticed Thor was on the other side of the room, and she was comforted by the fact that Jane and Bruce were between the two of them, not that Darcy had had much to do with Bruce but she knew of his kind face and large stature which was enough to provide some comfort.

 

 

Uncle Phil began talking. Darcy tried to pay attention, but it wasn’t long before she noticed that the shirt Jane had dressed her in last night for bed had a pattern of moving bunnies on it, and so she was soon consumed with finding names for all of them. In the background of her head she could hear as Uncle Phil explained what happened the day/night before but she paid not real mind to it, too busy trying to figure out what would suit the bunny doing a cartwheel along the bottom of her top.

 

 

It wasn’t until she felt everyone’s eyes on her that Darcy looked up. Knowing she hadn’t been paying attention, she quickly blushed and folded in on herself, not really being able to deal with everyone’s stares. Uncle Phil’s eyes were soft as he came to kneel before her.

 

‘Darcy, I know this is tough but the next few words you are going to hear are very important and I need you to pay attention okay?’ He asked voice calm and smooth. Darcy nodded her head solemnly, understanding the severity of the situation. Would this be the moment where Uncle Phil asked her to move out for being bad? Or maybe everyone had realised she had done a bad thing? Darcy waited patiently for Uncle Phil's punishment.

 

 

 

Except it never came.

 

 

 

Instead Uncle Phil lightly but firmly grasped Darcy's hands and looked her deep into the eyes.

 

‘We all love, you,’ he began his own eyes getting misty with tears.

 

Darcy was taken aback, confused and surprised, this was not at all what she was expecting. She looked around the room and saw everyone else’s faces were just like Uncle Phil's.

 

 

Natasha, directly next to her turned and took her hands gently from Uncle Phil’s.

 

‘You are family now,’ the red head said.

 

‘And we protect our family’ Steve added from where he was sitting across the room.

 

‘Everything we do will be to try and protect you,’ Tony’s voice declared.

 

‘We never want you to feel that fear again’ Bruce’s deep voice sounded.

 

‘Because you are out sister, and you deserve safety,’ Clint voice pipped up, sounding way more mature than normal.

 

‘We will all strive to make you see, that we love you Darcy.’ Thor’s voice boomed softly, filled with emotion.

 

‘Darcy, we just really want you to know, we love you so much, and nothing can ever change that.’ Jane’s voice was quiet but strong as she stood from her seat and made her way to Darcy, gently picking her up. ‘Now I think its time for a nap, don’t bother us for a few hours, I definitely need some more sleep’.

 

And with that Jane and Darcy left everyone else in the room and went to Jane’s bedroom where they both lay down on Jane’s bed and quickly fell asleep, Darcy nicely warm in Jane’s arms.

 

 

 


	8. Understanding through Park Visits

 

 

Darcy was confused. Sure everything they were saying made some sense, but at the same time it didn’t.

 

Why would they love her? Why would they want to protect her? Who were they protecting her from?

 

She knew Thor wasn’t a bad guy, or Phil or anyone for that matter, even her father had been nice on occasion, sometimes even bringing home oranges for her to eat, Darcy loved oranges. It was only the Liquid that made people bad. The Liquid could make anyone bad. Darcy secretly hoped that out of everyone Jane never had any liquid, because that would be the worst if she started doing mean things.

 

But nevertheless when Jane woke up and found Darcy awake in her arms thinking all these things, Jane decided that maybe it was time to leave the house. Darcy hadn’t been outside properly since she had her cast on her leg removed, and seeing as the whole afternoon was left, Jane thought it would be a good idea to take a picnic to the park.

 

 

And of course once the other kids heard this they were super on board with the idea, running around the kitchen and house helping prepare sandwiches and gather items to take. Darcy sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen where Jane had placed her after their nap, watching as the small women fluttered around keeping an eye on Steve as he tried to pile his sandwich high with ham, and Clint as he tried to mix his ketchup with soy sauce (because it ‘tasted way better Aunt Jane, you got to try it’).

 

And Darcy watched as Tony kept running through the room, looking for a Frisbee that Thor was sure was in the laundry but Natasha had sworn was is the hall cupboard (Darcy suspected they were playing a joke on Tony for some comments he had made earlier about how old Bunny was looking, Bunny had since not left Darcy’s arms for fear of the incinerator monster Tony claimed to be designing).

 

 

But maybe a trip to the park would be fun. Darcy had never been with the whole family, often staying in the house when her leg was broken, or only going with a segment of the family, because ultimately someone would have something else on. Even Bruce and Phil were taking time off work to come along as well, something Darcy was secretly glad about. Even though she had probably spent the least amount of time with the eldest boy who was constantly busy on his ‘sciencey-things’, Darcy had found his presence to be one of the most soothing of the household. Especially when compared to Tony and Clint who both seemed to have no off switch.

 

And so Darcy decided that Janes plan was a good one, and not just because it was Janes plan, and so she sat patiently while Bruce tied up her laces, which was something that he had been teaching her, but it was still confusing and sometimes her fingers still got in the way. BY the time Bruce had finished, going extra slowly so Darcy could see the movements of his fingers, everyone else was ready to go.

 

 

The lined up at the door while Uncle Phil organised hats and sunscreen for everyone, because it was still summer and sunburn was no-ones friend, Darcy had learnt that lesson the hard way, and gathering all their belongings they exited the house.

 

 

 

The walk to the park was not a long one. Just a couple of blocks, and Darcy made sure to hold Janes hand th whole way there. Thor had cautiously approached her other side and Darcy had eagerly offered her hand, knowing that he had not had time to have any liquid so he was the normal safe happy Thor. His face had split in two in such a wide smile when it happened that Darcy thought it was worth it.

 

 

Halfway there Clint had grumbled about having to carry the backpack that had the picnic blanket in it, so Uncle Phil had quickly slung him up onto his shoulders. Darcy had looked on in awe, wondering what it must be like to be that high. When Thor had seen her gaze he had offered to do the same to her, but she had shyly rejected, for fear she would not like it, and instead asked if her could help her super jump (where in Darcy performs a normal jump but gets lifted very high into the air by Thor’s muscly arms, allowing her to take a lot fewer steps).

 

 

By the time the group arrived at the park everyone was laughing and smiling enjoying the day. They quickly found a spot under a shady tree and laid out the picnic blanket, before arranging food around the area. Plates were passed out, sandwiches were chosen and water bottles were handed around before everyone dug in to the feast, all commenting Steve and Clint on their great efforts (although Phil had looked a bit disappointed when he received the soy-sauce sandwich, but he valiantly ate it, proclaiming Clint for his kitchen prowess).

 

 

After food had been eaten, the boys quickly grabbed a football and took off towards the open area running and jumping on each other giving little response to Phil's ‘be safe’ then a wave over their shoulders.

 

 

Natasha noticing Darcy’s reluctance to join in offered to take her to the pond to feed the ducks some of the crusts that Tony refused to eat. Excited at the prospect of seeing ducks, Darcy happily agreed, and the two walked a little way off to the pond.

 

 

It was pleasant sitting next to the water’s edge, feeding the ducks.  Darcy really enjoyed the noises they made, and how funny they looked when they would dip their heads under the water. It wasn’t long before all the crust were gone (it may have been caused by an exuberant Darcy throwing half of the bread in on one go), and Natasha declares that she will be going back to Phil, bored already with the small animals.

 

 

Natasha questions Darcy, but Darcy wants to stay by the water’s edge. It’s calm and cool and the ducks make her feel happy. She points out to Natasha that she can hear the boys playing football see the picnic blanket from where they are (making the point by waving to Uncle Phil and Jane who respond happily).

 

 

After making Darcy promise not to go into the water, or talk to strangers, or wander off, or interact with anyone outside the family in any other way, Natasha walks back over to the blanket where she settles with a book she brought with them, making sure to look up at Darcy every now and then to ensure she was okay.

 

 

 

Darcy was enjoying the ducks. Like really enjoying them. Like if she didn’t already have a super cool bunny (Which Uncle Phil was carefully looking after over by the picnic – she had checked before she left) she was sure she would want a duck.

 

Darcy tried to name the ducks that had originally gathered for the bread. She was sad that it was all gone, and was trying to remember if anyone else had not eaten their crusts, when a ball rolled over next to her.

 

 

Darcy turned her head and looked at the ball, it bright colours making a fun pattern on its outside. A voice called from a fair distance away.

 

‘Hey, throw that back yeah?’

 

Darcy immediately ducked her head. She remembered Natasha’s instructions not to interact or talk to strangers, and Darcy didn’t want to go against the girls orders.

 

‘Yo kid, throw it over here’ the boy kept yelling waving his arms.

 

‘Hey Girl, I said throw me my ball.’ The boys shouting got louder as he walked closer, but Darcy continued to ignore him.

 

‘What’s wrong you stupid or something?’ the boy was suddenly right next to Darcy, and she could see that he was a fair bit older then her, probably around Steve’s age, and that his face was in a scowl, his hands going into fists as Darcy continued to ignore him.

 

 

‘Look at me when I am talking to you.’ He growled bending slightly so his face was right in Darcy’s. She flinched, remembering that tone and normally what followed.

 

 

The boy seemed to like that as he smirked and said in a quiet dangerous voice, ‘now pick up the ball and give it to me.’

 

 

Darcy was trapped. Either she could go against the boy who was very obviously going to hurt her if she did, or she could go against Natasha and avoid pain now, but deal with who knows what later. Deciding that the know was better than the unknown, Darcy continued to do her best to ignore him, hoping Natasha wouldn't be mad because it was actually the boy who was interacting with her.

 

 

The boy did not take her inaction very well, his fists starting to shake as he spat out through clenched teeth, ‘you would do well to not ignore me little girl.’ And the next thing Darcy knew there was a sharp sting to her face and she was flying through the air into the water. She screamed.

 

 

Apparently though the pond looked shallow and nice, it was not. Her splash resulted in her head going underwater and Darcy, not being able to swim, got distracted about which way was up.  Eventually her feet found the bottom and she managed to push her head above water spluttering and coughing trying to brush her hair out of her eyes, because she knew that sneak attacks could hurt just as bad as those you were expecting. Her flailing did not cease when she felt pair of arms wrap around her from behind and she screeched again trying to lash out at who was grabbing her. The person holding her quickly turned around and Darcy found herself chest to chest with Steve, his strong arms holding her above water as he pulled her out of the pond. Darcy cringed, waiting for his hit, knowing that often people are more likely to join in once the first hit has been taken.

 

 

 But instead once they reached the safety of land Steve pulled her slightly behind his body, getting in between Darcy and the boy. Who was now separated from her by many people, most of whom were bigger and more intimidating than he was. Noticing that Thor and Bruce were both having a serious quiet talk to the boy, whose anger seemed to be replaced by fear, Steve turned to Darcy to check if she was alright.

 

 

Darcy was stunned by the soft hands that brushed her hair from her face, pushing it back behind her ears while checking her cheek for a bruise, Darcy knew it would, the boy had hit her at just the right angle, but hopefully her eye wouldn’t swell. Slowly the calm soothing hands took stock of her body, checking for any other injuries that may be present.

 

 

Darcy’s ears which had been ringing soon cleared and she noticed Steve was talking to her, saying soothing words about how she was safe and everything was going to be okay.

 

After a few moments, Darcy noticed that others had gathered around her, and she broke contact with Steve’s face to look around.

 

All of them showed concern on their faces, and for the first time in probably forever, Darcy understood what it felt like to be loved.

 

And she was so caught up in the emotion that tears started to fall from her eyes.

 

Immediately she was swept in to Jane’s arms (and bundled in the picnic rug to try to deal with her sopping wet clothes). And it wasn’t long before everyone had joined in the group hug, with Darcy right in the middle feeling the safest and warmest she had in a very long time.

 

_Her new family loved her. She had a new family. This was a real family. The kind you hear about but don’t think exists. A family that loves each other._

 

 

The walk back to the house was done in a hushed silence that was comforting to Darcy. She was securely wrapped in the blanket cradled to Uncle Phil's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and the soft murmurings between Uncle Phil and Bruce, who seemed to be explain what happened, and how the boy (maybe called ward? She didn’t quiet catch the name) was from the orphanage and known for his anger, and how the issue was being dealt with by the orphanages runners and hopefully they could all resolve the issue without involving the police.

 

Darcy didn’t really understand what was happening, but she didn’t really mind. Because she didn’t feel scared or on edge or worried. She felt safe. Surrounded by her family, who would protect her from bullies, and wouldn't hurt her, they would protect her. Because she was one of them.

 

 

 

 


	9. Wrapping up Holidays (Going Back to School)

The realisation brought Darcy into the world of her new family both abruptly and subtly.  
Now Darcy was willing to hang around her siblings (She wasn’t too sure what to call them, but she loved them like brothers and sister). Darcy happily joined in with the holidays the others were having, eager to make the most of the new safe environment.

 

A couple weeks before the others went back to school, Uncle Phil took Darcy to a big building where she sat in a room with a lady and went through a lot of question, questions about colours and numbers and letters. Some questions Darcy knew the answer to and others she didn’t. Although Darcy knew this was her fault, back at her old house school had never been important, and while she had gone some of the time, she preferred to not be spoken to by teachers and avoided participating in class. (which probably why she wasn’t that confident in her reading before Steve sat down with her. Most of the time she just bluffed her way through off other kids answers).

 

Once all the questions were done, Uncle Phil spoke to the lady for a while, Darcy sitting on a chair in the hallway waiting. Uncle Phil walked out smiling at Darcy, so she wasn’t too worried that she had messed it up too badly.

 

Uncle Phil explained that they would have the results from the test soon, and the results would help explain what areas Darcy needed help with and if she would be capable of going onto the next year of school, or stuck repeating the last year.

 

While the wait for the test results made Darcy quite nervous, actually receiving them was relatively easy. Uncle Phil came to her a couple days later with a very formal looking envelope and showed her what the pieces of paper said, and what it wold mean. 

 

Apparently, thanks to Steve teaching and her own love for it, Darcy was reading at an above average level for most students her age, and because of that her spelling and language skills were at least average (but uncle Phil kept pointing out she was on the high side of average, which made Darcy feel great). The only problems that might hinder her were her abilities in math, but she would still be going on to her second year and be re tested just before school goes back and if required they would arrange for additional help while she attends school. 

 

Darcy was not fond of math, but looking at Uncle Phil as he took her threw what they would be going over the next few weeks to get her up to speed in math made her think that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

 

By Far Darcy’s favourite teacher was Jane. And not just because Jane is her favourite everything, Jane just had a way of talking about math that made Darcy want to listen.

 

Bruce was also good at teaching math (and he taught her about the cool things you can do with math, SCIENCE!, and even took her with him into the university laboratory one day to see his super smart math in action, one of Darcy’s favourite days so far).

 

Uncle Phil was good at teaching math, but Darcy thought that maybe Uncle Phil was just good at teaching everything because whenever she had a question he would be so good at talking her through the answer.

 

The other kids all helped with her teaching as well. Steve had summer projects that he had to do that he would sit at the dining table and do with her Darcy while she was doing her activity books to keep her company. Clint taught her all the songs he had learnt at school to help with counting. Natasha made up games to help her remember her numbers and the order they went in. Tony even let Darcy watch him in the garage while he worked on his inventions, quizzing her on what she knew.

 

Thor claimed that his gifts did not lay in teaching math, so he was self-appointed in charge of her breaks, often taking her to get ice creams, pushing her on the swings or playing tag. One day he even walked right into the dining room with a water pistol and declared she arm herself and get away from things she didn’t want wet. Of course she immediately hid behind Steve and it wasn’t long before an all-out war was declared. Uncle Phil came home from work to find all his children worn out wet and lying in the backyard, giant smiles on their faces. 

 

This summer was by far Darcy’s favourite.

 

And of course she flew through her re-testing and was declared above average for her age and allowed to move on with high commendations from her tester. 

 

That night everyone dressed up and they went out for burgers to celebrate. 

 

But then school started

 

It was odd. Darcy would be going to a different school, one closer to the house. Darcy would be in elementary school, with both Clint and Natasha next door at the middle school. She would walk with them in the morning and they would be waiting for her to get out in the afternoon to walk home. 

 

Darcy, Natasha and Clint were to go home, drop off their bags before going next door to Aunt Maria’s where they were to do their homework and eat one (just one Clint) snack.

 

Steve and Tony would walk part of the way with the, but the high school was a couple blocks over so they would part ways, and it got out later in the afternoon, when both boys had extracurricular activities, so Uncle Phil would pick them up on his way home from work.

 

Thor would get home from work around the same time as Uncle Phil, and Jane and Bruce had very varied hours at the university.

 

At least that was the plan that had been drilled into Darcy the week leading up to school. Uncle Phil made sure she understood where to go and when to be there. He made back-up plans in case something happened; he made back-ups to the back-ups in case something else happened. Darcy didn’t mind (though some of the plans were hard to remember and a bit confusing) because every time Uncle Phil told her a new plan, it showed her just how much he wanted her safe. And that made her feel great.

 

Her first morning at hr new school found Darcy full of excitement and nervousness. Her new backpack filled with new books and a large lunch sat on her back, and her new runners fitted comfortably on her feet as she bounced in the hallway near the door waiting for the others to get ready.

 

As usual Clint was dragging his feet and tony had misplaced some of his school things. Steve had helped Darcy get ready and was currently trying to fit his large art book into his satchel (which was not a purse thank you very much Clint, and it’s very stylish, thank you Tony), Natasha patiently waiting next to Darcy and every now and then would place a hand on her back trying to calm her. 

 

Uncle Phil appeared next to Darcy in the hall, coming out of the kitchen where he had finished washing up for the celebratory back to school breakfast, and called out in his serious loud voice. 

 

‘Family assemble’

 

Which, of course, resulted in the children (and adults) scrambling to be ready and meet in the hall.

 

Watching Thor half trip down the stairs while he finished putting his shoes on made Darcy giggle. 

 

As Uncle Phil handed out the lunches (Darcy’s was in a paper bag that had her name written on it and a large smiley face that she was sure was drawn by Clint based on the squiggly-ness of its smile), he made sure to go over the daily schedule again, making sure everyone knew when who was expected home when.

 

Darcy listened carefully not wanting to miss anything and end up doing the wrong thing. 

 

But it wasn’t long before Uncle Phil was finished, the bags were packed and Darcy was walking down the street in between Natasha and Clint on her way to the first day of her new school.

 

She could only hope it would go well.


	10. New Friends of all shapes and Sizes

Darcy looked at the animal that had literally followed her home. She and her brothers and sister had been down at the park, them playing some kind of game involving a ball and her sitting quietly under a tree, when she first heard the soft bark from the animal.

 

She searched for the animal in the bushes that surrounded the tree, making sure to stay in sight of her family so they wouldn’t worry, and it wasn’t long before she found the small bundle of fur, curled up close to the middle of the bush. The branches and leaves were packed to tightly for her to reach it, so she had sat, staring at it as it stared back at her. The puppy seemed trapped by her stare and so they sat like that for close to 20 minutes before Darcy heard Steve calling.

 

‘Come along Darce, we need to head back for lunch’. Steve shouted from across the park.

 

Looking back at the animal Darcy waved slightly before running off after her family, catching up with them before they got too far.

 

Steve smiled as he held out his hand for Darcy to grab onto. She did quickly which made Steve smile even more. 

 

They walked the few blocks home, with the older kids chatting happily as they reminisced on the game they had just played. From what she could gather, Clint, Natasha and Bruce’s team had won, due to the fact that both Thor and Steve were hesitant about tackling the younger kids.   
Often they encourage Darcy to join, and while she was sure they would never purposefully hurt her, she didn’t want to be in a position where it could happen accidentally (also Darcy didn’t really understand the game they were all playing, and while she was sure they would explain it if she asked, Darcy didn’t want them to think she was dumb for not understanding how to play what Clint called ‘An American Right’). So instead of joining in with them Darcy often used the excuse of uneven teams and would just sit under the trees looking at the sky.

 

Just as the group were walking into the yard of the house, Darcy noticed her shoe was untied and stopped to tie it up again. Steve bent over to help her but after a glare from the young girl; he got up shaking his head and laughing about her independence before following the rest of the kids into the house. 

 

It took Darcy a few attempts but she finally got the laces to go the way she wanted and just as she was standing up, she heard a familiar noise behind her. Turning she saw the same animal that she had spied under the bush at the park.

 

Darcy contemplated her next actions while looking at the animal. She had always wanted a pet, at her other house there was no way that an animal would survive, but here at Uncle Phil’s surely there was a chance he could say yes. Making sure the puppy was still following Darcy walked up to the porch.

 

The puppy didn’t seem intimidated by the house, instead quite the opposite, bounding up the stairs ahead of Darcy, wagging its tail the whole way.

 

Not quite sure how to proceed with the dog, Darcy called out in her loudest voice,

 

‘Uncle Phil!’

 

There was the sound of running footsteps and crashing inside the hose, which forced the dog back to Darcy’s legs in fear. The door burst open, Phil who seemed to have been making sandwiches at the time she called had run out still clutching a half-finished ham and cheese, the ham falling onto the ground. Phil noticed Darcy on the front steps and dropped the whole sandwich immediately walking towards her hands outstretched in case she needed help.

 

‘Darcy, what is it; are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?’

 

Darcy looked at Phil’s face, and putting on her best puppy dog eyes asked timidly, 

 

‘Can we keep him?’ before looking down at the puppy which was busy eating the ham that had fallen out of the bread on the ground. 

 

Phil looked at the animal, before looking back up into Darcy’s eyes. He turned around and looked at the group of kids that had followed him outside at Darcy’s cry. They all had the same expression that Darcy did, although none of them were doing it quite so well.

 

Phil sighed rubbing his face over his hands. 

 

‘I am not going to be the one in charge of walking him.’ He said, but most of it was drowned out by cheers of the kids. ‘And you have to take him to the vet today to make sure he isn’t going to give you diseases.’

 

‘Thank you thank you thank you Uncle Phil’, Darcy beamed up at him.

 

It was about a week later when Darcy was taking the puppy for a walk, (after he had received all his shots, and the vet had checked him to make sure he was healthy). 

 

There had been some disagreement over the name, with Uncle Phil declaring that they all had to agree on a name to avoid the poor dog having to deal with 7 different ones (Clint was being difficult when it came to naming him). In the end it was Jane’s suggestion that won out, with everyone thinking that Oliver was perfect for the Border collie pup, especially Darcy who had taken to calling him Ollie just because it sounded fun.

 

Uncle Phil had kept his promise, and a roster was done up for Ollie’s walking, feeding and cleaning that included all of the kids. While Darcy had originally just been put on food duty, her pleading eyes had won out again and she was allowed to walk the dog, but only if someone over the age of 16 went with her.

 

Today Uncle Phil was strolling beside her, his long legs easily keeping pace as Darcy was pulled along by Ollie. He was yet to fully understand the concept of walks, constantly struggling against the lead, but the children were sure that with perseverance and determination he would learn. Phil had given them two weeks before he signed Ollie up for some training sessions.

 

Walking to the park simple for the group of three. Ollie knew the path well now, seeing as it was the regular walk the children took him on, even though they had to stop quite often for him to sniff around.

 

By the time they reach the park Darcy’s arm was super sore from being pulled by the puppy. She passed off the lead to Uncle Phil before taking off to the swing set, one of her favourite parts of the playground. Once she was seated comfortably on the seat she looked over and saw Uncle Phil throwing a ball he seemed to have magically produced for Ollie to chase, and Darcy marvelled at Ollie’s ability to bring the ball back and place it at Uncle Phil's feet to keep the game going. 

 

Focusing back on the swing set, Darcy began to move her body, swaying it forward and backward just as Natasha had shown her to make the swing move. Normally she would have a brother pushing her as she attempted to soar through the sky, but today Darcy was determined to do it herself.

 

Unfortunately it turns out determination can only get you so far and after a few minutes and some poor attempts to get her swing moving, Darcy was ready to give up and go over to Uncle Phil and Ollie, who seemed to be having way more fun than she was, when a voice pipped up from next to her.

 

‘You gotta to swing your legs more.’

 

Darcy turned and faced a girl who would have been roughly the same age as her. Darcy face must have shown her confusion because the girl continued.

 

‘Your legs, you gots to make em go higher when you go forward to make you really fly. That’s what my momma tells me.’

 

Darcy smiled at the girl and tried her way of doing things. Apparently when you can swing high swings become way more fun, and it isn’t long before you are having a competition with the girl next to you to see who can go higher.

 

Unexpectedly the girl launches herself from the swing and goes sailing through the air landing in a rough heap out on the grass.

 

Darcy stumbles as she tries to get off the swing to help her new friend, and so by the time she makes it over, she finds the girl lying on her back, a large smile on her face laughing. Not really knowing what else to do Darcy lies down with a huff next to the girl and starts to laugh as well.

 

‘My names Darcy,’ she introduces. ‘I came to the park with my Uncle Phil and my puppy Ollie’.

 

‘My Names Skye,’ the girl says. ‘I come to the park all the time with my momma. I see you sometimes but you always have lots of other kids to play with. I don’t have any other kids so I wanted to be friend with you.’

 

The honesty of the girl shocks Darcy a bit, but she remembers feeling lonely and so she responds to the girl (Skye) that, 

‘Well you don’t have to worry about that anymore, because we are best friends now’ with a huge smile on her face.

 

Skye turns her head and grins widely back at Darcy.

‘Want to come meet my puppy?’ Darcy questions.

 

And at Skye’s nod they both jump up quickly and race over to where Uncle Phil and Ollie are lying in the shade.

 

The introductions go well.

Skye gets introduced to Ollie and Uncle Phil, who in turn get introduced to Skye’s momma Melinda.

 

The adults chat while Darcy and Skye roll around with Ollie and it isn’t long before Darcy feels her tummy get rumbly with hunger. She looks to Uncle Phil who looks at his watch and declares it lunchtime. The invitation is extended to Skye and Melinda and quickly accepted as all four humans and one dog begin the walk back to Uncle Phil's house.

 

Darcy and Skye take turns holding Ollie’s lead, which makes the trip home a lot quicker and easier for Darcy’s arms.

 

They take Ollie around the back of the house, making sure the gate it latched before letting him off the lead. As usual he runs around the yard, making sure everything smells like it should.

 

Darcy leads Skye into the house, stopping in the laundry to was the dog off their hands and get ready for lunch. Just as they finish, Darcy hears Uncle Phil call from the kitchen and they both race to get lunch (along with everyone else if the sound of footsteps they hear can mean anything).

 

They arrive at the kitchen first but it isn’t long before all the other kids are rushing in taking plates and food into the dining room, calling out for other things as they do. Darcy doesn’t realise her new friend is no longer behind her until she spots Skye slightly hiding behind Melinda over at the side. 

 

She approaches slowly and grins a bit at Skye.

 

‘Its okay to be scared’, Darcy tries to reassure. ‘I was my first day here, there are heaps of them and they are all really big. But its okay they are super nice.’

 

Melinda smiles down at Darcy softly. ‘Skye doesn’t get to spend much time around a lot of others.’ She explains. ‘Especially not with many older than she is. She is just a bit shy.’

 

‘I’m not shy Momma,’ Comes Skye’s insistent reply, which loses a lot of its sting because it is muffled into Melinda’s side.

 

‘Prove it then’ Melinda challenges, looking down at Skye with a slight smirk on her face.

 

Skye straightens immediately and walks away from her mother, grabbing Darcy's hand on the way past into the dining room where all the other kids have arranged themselves around the table. 

 

‘Hi my names Skye’ she says in a voice that carries over the whole room and only slightly wavers.

 

The other kids stop their discussion and turn to her, smiles ready on their faces.

 

‘Hey Skye’ they seem to answer in chorus before they begin making room for her to join them on the table.

 

As Skye is getting comfortable in her seat in between Darcy and Tony, Darcy thinks she hears Melinda mutter something about being ‘too stubborn for her own good’, but she brushes it off when Skye hands her the cheese.

 

Apparently the two new best friends have the same taste in sandwiches, which is totally cool.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Skye isn’t the only new friend to enter the Coulson household. Not a week later Tony comes home dragging behind him a curly haired boy claiming they need to work on their group project. The boy looks younger than Tony and older than Clint, and it is only after Darcy subjects him to what Tony calls ‘pointless, boring and annoying questioning’ that she discovers his name is Leo (call me Fitz) and he goes to school with tony and they are working on their entry to the state robotics championship.  
Fitz starts to spend a lot of afternoons and weekends in Tony’s workshop and a lot of noises come from behind the door. 

 

(Darcy and Skye spend like a whole hour with their ear pressed against it trying to hear what’s really going on behind the door. They don’t believe Tony when he says he’s building a robot that can take over the world for one second…or maybe they do)

 

\----------

A few days later, Jane comes home from the lab with Bruce and a girl Darcy has never seen before. Her name is Jemma and she is doing her internship (or something) with Jane at the lab. Darcy loves listening to her voice (she’s British and loves to talk about all things English) and that night Darcy ends up curled up on Janes lap, falling asleep listening to Jemma talk. Jemma becomes a regular visitor on Wednesday and Friday nights, which are apparently her days in the lab.

 

\----------

 

One Friday Bruce doesn’t come home with Jane and Jemma and instead Jane explains to Darcy that he has gone on a date with one of his university friends called Betty. Uncle Phil lets Darcy stay up until Bruce gets home and she has never seen him with a bigger smile on his face than when he walks through the front door just after 11pm (his curfew, but Uncle Phil didn’t seem to worries).

 

\----------

 

Natasha introduces Darcy to Bobbi one afternoon when Bobbi stops around after Ballet to have afternoon tea while her parents finish up at work. Bobbi is super cool, just like Natasha and Darcy can see why they are best friends. She watches them as they practise their dancing in Natasha’s room marvelling at the way they seem to move effortlessly. Darcy almost squeals for joy when Natasha invites both her and Skye to join Bobbi in their sleep over on weekend. They end up staying in Natasha’s Room in a fort made out of blankets while they watch movies with a sign on the door saying ‘NO BOYS ALLOWED’. Uncle Phil was allowed into bring snacks because they reasoned he wasn’t a Boy.

 

\----------

 

Clint’s best friend was a girl in his class called Kate. The first time Darcy saw her was when she went with Phil to collect Clint from Afternoon detention. Clint and Kate had come running out of their class room laughing and joking about what they had gotten up to. After that Darcy saw Kate more and more as she visited the house so they could (as Clint put it) Plan the reasons he stayed in school.

 

\----------

 

Thor didn’t seem have friends. Well Darcy was sure he had friends because he was such a nice friendly guy, but Darcy had never met them. Sure he told stories of a bunch of people from his work, but their names were almost as crazy as his and they never visited, not once in the time she had lived there so for a while Darcy was sure they weren't real (she had a lot of previous experience with imaginary friends). That was until one Sunday when they were having a big cook up that three big guys turned up at the house. Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg were so much fun for Darcy, all eager to engage in the games Thor would normally play with her. By the end of the day she had sat upon all of their shoulders at least once and somehow managed to con them all into playing houses with her in the tree house. Apparently Thor took pictures and was going to put them up at work. Darcy thought the three guys may be mad because of it, but they just laughed it off and told her that next time Thor would have to join as well.

 

\----------

 

Steve had lots of friends. Friends from classes, from football, from his after school job of delivering mail. Darcy met a whole lot of them over different times. There was Bucky (don’t you dare call me James), Tripp, Hunter, Sam, Brock even Grant. Darcy had been a bit wary of Grant to start off with, the memories of the pond driving her to kick his shin the first time Steve brought him by the house. But after a 20 minute time out, forced apology to Grant and an explanation from Steve she was willing to let it go. Apparently after the incident at the park Steve had confronted Grant at school and had a ‘stern talking’ to him (code for they got in a punch up – Darcy did remember Steve coming home with a bruised jaw one day a couple weeks back), and since then Steve had gotten Grant involved in football, and with that ‘outlet for his energy’ (a phrase Coulson had used with a sour expression on his face) Grant had actually turned into a sort-of nice guy. 

 

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**Author's Note:**

> This story is turning out to be way longer than previously planned. Thanks for all those who read and review and stick with me through my sporadic updates. Hope you enjoy!


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